"Cycles" (stylized as "cycles" on the tracklist) is a song by Swedish singer-songwriter Tove Lo, from her third studio album, ''

Blue Lips ''Blue Lips'' is the third studio album by Swedish singer Tove Lo. It was released on 17 November 2017 by Island Records. ''Blue Lips'' is considered the second half of a two-piece concept album that describe "highs, lows and ultimate demise of ...

''. It was released on 17 November 2017 as a promotional single. It was written by Tove Lo,

Joe Janiak Joseph Janiak is a multi-platinum selling British singer/songwriter and record producer based in Los Angeles, United States. He is mostly known for being a songwriter for the likes of Ellie Goulding, Tove Lo, Snakehips, Britney Spears, Take That ...

, Ludvig Söderberg and produced by The Struts. Lyrically, it talks about being trapped in a never-ending relationship loop. A music video directed by Malia James was released on 4 December 2018.

Composition

"Cycles" is a three-minute, twenty-eight-second synth-pop song, written by Tove Lo,

, Ludvig Söderberg and produced by The Sturts. Written in the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (ma ...

of G major, "Cycles" has a tempo of 105

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ...

and features "baby-cry production, is dripping with self-deprecation." Lyrically, the song is about being trapped in a never-ending relationship loop, indicated by the lines: "How can I change it when I don't know when I'm in it?/ I'm in a cycle/ Swear this is different/ Don't wanna end it/ If you leave then I keep spinnin'". According to Xavier Piedra from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' she "sings in the chorus while she holds her head in frustration."

Critical reception

Danny Madion of The Michigan Daily wrote that the song "walks listeners through a narrative of falling in love with an ex-lover. It's sad and earnest but doesn't lead to a notable chorus you’d sing in the car.". Alex Clarke of The Observer described "Cycles" and "Stranger" as "honest depictions of love that are nothing in the way of cliché."

Music video

The music video for "Cycles" was directed by Malia James and it was released on 4 December 2018 on her

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, dig ...

channel. It was filmed as a

one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'' (2 ...

and it was initially previewed in her short film ''

'' in the post-credits scene where she spins around in a chair while the camera circles around her in blurry motion while lights are flashing all over her body.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. * Tove Lo − vocals, songwriter * Ludvig Söderberg − songwriter *

− songwriter * Jakob Jerlström − songwriter, backing vocalist * The Struts − producer,

programmer A computer programmer, sometimes referred to as a software developer, a software engineer, a programmer or a coder, is a person who creates computer programs — often for larger computer software. A programmer is someone who writes/creates ...

* Chris Gehringer − mastering engineer * John Hanes − assistant mixer * Serban Ghenea − mixer

Charts

References

External links

* {{authority control 2017 songs Songs written by Tove Lo Tove Lo songs Songs written by Ludvig Söderberg Songs written by Joe Janiak Songs written by Jakob Jerlström