“Sunflower” is a tender-hearted single from Tove Styrke’s upcoming album I thought this story wasn’t about me. This song is what experimental and intrinsic meaning can bring to a song, possibly to her upcoming album.
An ethereal reconnection with her relationship with nature and the beautifully mind-blowing love to give as a parent, Tove Styrke’s “Sunflower” is a reflection of affection for someone who is the center of your whole heart. With production that sounds like the best of gripping pop icons like Grimes and Dagny that’s more stripped and organic in feeling, this song blooms like a slow burn, allowing her unique sound and inner world to unfold.
Tove’s pre-chorus is really what pins the song together, lodging itself quickly and gently into your core. In a voice that would believably be a voice of an angel speaking through a hymnal, she sings what gives the song its title and its most essential narrative:
“I turn to you like a sunflower turns to the sun
No matter what you do, you’re my only one
But what happens when the light fades and the night comes my way?
Guess I’ll wait until the break of day”
The 2009 Swedish Idol finalist gives eviscerating lyrics and heartbreakingly beautiful accompaniment in the vocal layers only made more touching when you learn that “Sunflower” is for her daughter. Simplistic, but production that you can almost hear a root system in; it’s a song born only from moments of honest creation, this new chapter for Tove sounds as if it’s honed by a career of talent that only builds with time, and perspective that only comes when you reconnect with the worlds inside of and around you. It builds as the song’s lyrics slowly, softly envelop your heart.
With the release of her next album on the way this fall, I anticipate falling in love with I thought this story wasn’t about me, although “Sunflower” makes it hard to believe anyone could love anything more than Tove loves her daughter. An absolute heart melter, I can’t wait to hear what Tove Styrke has to come.
For Fans of: Grimes and Dagny, MØ, Robyn, Björk, Lorde, CHVRCHES
