Elise Trouw blows up her own blueprint on ‘All You Need Is Lust’
10 October 2025
Newsdesk
Elise Trouw’s new single “All You Need Is Lust” marks a jarring but compelling pivot from the intricate looping-room videos and tightly arranged performances that first brought her attention. For longtime fans familiar with her debut album Unraveling and early viral covers, this latest work lands like a deliberate rupture – a messy, weird, and personal recalibration of everything that came before.
The Diary of Elon Lust, out February 13, is a concept album told entirely through the voice of a fictional man named Elon Lust – a persona built from casual misogyny, performative charm, and weaponized likability. It’s easily the riskiest project Trouw has taken on. But what makes it work is precisely its refusal to ask permission.
There’s something undeniably refreshing about watching an artist dismantle their own creative identity. Trouw doesn’t ease into this new chapter – she demolishes the old one. The meticulous polish is replaced by a looser, darker kind of satire, and the result is both destabilizing and hypnotic.
“All You Need Is Lust” opens with a soft, layered vocal loop and a slow, seductive groove. At first, it sounds like a warped love song. But as the lyrics unfold, it becomes clear that this is not a love song at all. It’s a mirror held up to a very specific type of male narcissism – the kind that knows how to talk about feminism just well enough to get laid. Trouw embodies the character with eerie accuracy, and the satire cuts deep.
The video pushes the discomfort further. Directed by Trouw, it’s a Bosch-inspired swirl of grotesque beauty: cherry-headed dancers, breast costumes, slow surrealist choreography. It doesn’t feel like a traditional music video – it’s more like a visual exorcism, a fever dream rendered in pastel and latex.
For listeners expecting the finely tuned musicality that defined Trouw’s earlier work, Elon Lust may sound like a different language. But the core is still there – just delivered with sharper edges and less concern for likability. This is not about showcasing skill. It’s about telling the truth, even if it’s ugly.
The Diary of Elon Lust is available for pre-order now through the Buy Before You Stream initiative, which allows fans to purchase the album on vinyl before its digital release. It’s a fitting delivery method for a project that resists quick consumption and rewards uncomfortable attention.
This is Elise Trouw, unfiltered – and it’s her most exciting work yet.
