This perfectly explains why the narrative around this album rollout has felt so frustrating. Lorde is trying to self-mythologize without any substance to mythologize. Also, it’s frustrating to see people always cite her going off birth control as essential to this rollout without mentioning that going off the pill made her realize she had pmdd and consequently needed an iud (which is still a form of birth control).
I completely agree. I feel like this album is another step back. She's surrounded herself with celebrities instead of true artists and it shows. She's 28, in the prime of her life, its been FOUR years since her last album and this is what we get? I think this is a reflection of how much social media and pop culture she is CONSUMING instead of CREATING. At least with solar power I felt like she was experimenting and it felt like it was a time capsule of that moment in time for her. It felt genuine. This album/songs anyone could of made them. Will forever be a Lorde fan. Just hoping she comes back to what makes Lorde LORDE.
She has a song about anorexia, if anything it’s the audience missing things and then declaring she’s no longer “authentic” because her confessionals aren’t about themselves
100% solar power was a much more inconsistent album (& had some pretty low lows) but there was a certain creative vision and had much more interesting songwriting. i loved some tracks and hated others, but it really felt like something with purpose.
totally agree!! i think it was more ambitious and i respected it for that, i also liked how it came from a place of artistic expression rather than a desire to hit sales targets (sue me but the direction of virgin makes it feel like this). i think solar power was also a great album the more you listened to it and it redefined lorde as a more versatile artist for me. i loved stoned at the nail salon, big star & oceanic feeling, some of my fave songs ever!!
This is a criminally under considered piece of writing. Just because you don’t relate to it doesn’t mean it isn’t relatable.
You bemoan that What Was That doesn’t explicitly evoke the feelings of being on MDMA yet omit the directly following line:
“I remember saying then, “This is the best cigarette of my life”
Imagine a mundane action that suddenly becomes the best experience of your life - that’s MDMA for you.
Not to mention:
“Indio haze, we’re in a sandstorm and it knocks me out”
…. If you’re looking for metaphor, there it is.
The fact that you’re confused how coming of birth control can both evoke the incredible drug-like feelings of ovulation AND an expansion of gender is concerning to me. They don’t have to be related to both be true. Birth control is literally regulating a persons hormones - coming off it means becoming unregulated so experiencing gender in a different way while also experiencing ovulation for the first time is not inherently conflicting.
I have to say as well that the main point of Man of The Year is not to describe how exactly it feels to her to be masculine, but to express her anxiety and vulnerability in becoming someone different. She feels different, altered, and cries “who’s gonna love me like this?” That’s as universal as it comes, my beloved.
I believe those who find this album too self centred could try becoming less self centred themselves. Step out of your body, imagine being in someone else’s, find similarities and contrasts. That is where the magic is.
Agree with you— I did feel underwhelmed by the album but more so because of the production being more spare compared to her other albums (but then again this is a personal preference). But one thing I can’t deny is that Lorde is an evocative writer. I find the frustration that she isn’t explaining things enough an alarming take from a writer. Why is the task of imagination something that we cannot undertake for ourselves?
My guess as to why her music sucks now is she’s not normal anymore. Those things she wrote about when she was younger, Pure Heroine and Melodrama, she was still… normal. Maybe not suburban normal on the second album but she hadn’t yet totally landed into her fame. Now she has, and she’s rich, and life is safe. I’m sure much of her emotional turmoil is synthetic since she has the inherent protections and stability that comes with massive success. Just a thought 🤷♀️ I was 16/17 listening to Pure Heroine and it felt like someone was literally singing my experience- it was incredible. Not I’m almost 30, married with a baby… her strange self-exploration doesn’t hit the same way with those of us that have actually grown up.
Maybe you don't relate as much because your life doesn't mirror hers in the same way it used to. Doesn't mean she hasn't matured just because she's not married with a kid. Strange self-exploration is what great art is all about.
Wow! That’s really high praise. Love that art connects with some of us, and not with others- imagine how boring it would be if we all loved the same things ❤️ can’t wait to see what her next album is like!
I agree, but adding on to that, the thing I love about Pure Heroine is that it’s so otherworldly. You can tell that much of the inspiration is from the ordinary life of a suburban teen, but she didn’t write relatable songs about being a suburban teen, she dressed them up as something much more epic, at times even fantastical or post-apocalyptic. It feels like the work of someone bored with her ordinary life, so she imagined a much more interesting one. And now her life is interesting enough for her that she just writes about it in a much more straightforward way, but it’s not as interesting for me as it is for her.
"'MDMA in the back garden, blow our pupils up,' offering nothing more than a description of a physiological effect of the drug."
Well yeah, out of context that’s right. But within the song, it reflects a memory from a past relationship—one that felt euphoric, without boundaries, and emotionally open, much like the effects of MDMA. It goes with the album’s themes of love, vulnerability, and how life, relationships, etc. are all like a blur of memories and you wake up one day like "what was that, what happened?". There's also a nod to how MDMA therapy helped her perform more freely, connecting with the audience in a raw, open way.
I think there's more to this album that you should dig into, maybe watch an interview of hers, read the Genius lyrical explanations or something. She's just an open book on this record, she's not trying to self-mythologize but actually the total opposite -- she's showing the poetry in the mundanity of everyday city life. Pure Heroine was like how she imagined being an adult was through Tumblr posts, Melodrama was wreaking havoc in her 20s and like the title, it's a saturated, heightened version of real life. Solar Power we can all agree sucked. But this album is just her keeping it real. Maybe it's more skeletal, but I think the substance comes from the honesty and lucidity of it. And I'd say MDMA, a throwaway drug referenced, is actually what helped her get to this point.
Just my 2 cents, sorry for the comment length. Your writing is good I just think maybe if you like Lorde's music a lot maybe this record will grow on you.
Such a great take, totally agree. I really like the way she leans into simple language on this record, it feels visceral and raw. She did the flourished, romantic language for Melodrama, and the unplugged, mystical language for Solar Power. I think Virgin has some really interesting writing, not to mention how well the production works with it.
this makes me curious— do you think that is always a bad thing, or would it depend on the quality of art made? and it makes me think: in what other era have young girls, and women, felt so free to examine themselves in art? so i would see that as a positive culturally. at least the good art outweighs the bad, imo.
It’s endless naval gazing when our world is falling apart and we need to be organizing with one another in our communities to standup against things, for things, and build things to challenge a big world that’s trying to take us down…not just endlessly contemplate about ourselves (some is great but endlessly makes you sad and stagnant). I want more provocative artists in this era like Sinead O’Conner.
interesting! i think there can be room for both kinds of artists. :) we are fighting for individuals as much as our communities overall. considering the small details of our lives and being able to connect to others emotionally, i would say, means the “naval gazing” can transcend into a meaningful, universal experience. and plenty of artists connect their experiences to wider culture, so they do both— one i think of is Sam Fender. i can see you seeing that as more useful culturally, but overall, i find myself appreciating both kinds of writing, since there is beauty in living in someone else’s head for a bit.
I think there’s room for both but I really don’t see many mainstream artists moving far beyond thinking about themselves in terms of gender and sexual identity, romance, and careers. Sure that’s important but like can we get over ourselves and think about something bigger
I think your essay is absolutely spot on. However, I don’t think that this is a problem that starts and ends with Lorde, but is a kind of self-centeredness that I find in a lot of music today. Whether it’s music that glamorizes or is a lament of fame, there are very few artists who are trying to tell a story. Their self-image is so binding that it stands in front of them, stopping them from seeing the people they are trying to reach or the greater point of music/art. Idk, I suppose I just think that a lot of artists are snapping a catchy tune, going viral, and then we rinse and repeat. There is nothing that truly sticks anymore because selfish art can only really speak to the person who made it.
writing lyrics about specific experiences can at times be the most universal songs to connect to emotionally. and i would say the same for poetry. it would be quite boring without the unique details of the writers’ lives. at the very least, i’m curious where the line is between self-reflective vs selfish art.
I think you bring up an excellent point. I didn’t mean to say that writing/singing about personal experience is selfish or self-centered because I whole heartedly agree that personal experiences can touch the deepest, intimate levels of humanity (literally the tradition of lyric poetry). However, I think there’s a difference between talking about a specific experience from a perspective that tells a story and shows>tells versus this view of “my pov is the only one that matters,” and I think this shows in the fact that there are not really any unique details in a lot of this music. It’s like you are listening to thoughts and feelings about a situation that are all so abstract, which are important yes but then there aren’t really concrete images to hold on to. But yeah I think it’s not a hard line, and I definitely want to flesh out that distinction more!
Must say I’m not a huge fan of calling someone unimaginative just because their work didn’t resonate with you, celebrity or not! I would counter that the aim of that song wasn’t to describe MDMA, just as she’s not asking for lyrical comparisons to a Bob Dylan or Joni Mitchell. I agree she hasn't fully explained why she feels like a man, but then again, she has told us she doesn’t understand it fully herself yet. I respect the need for music critique. It’s a great album to me - I love the creative direction, and what a unique sound on sex and lust - but personally I think the stronger point here is what you touched on with regard to wealthy pop stars being out of touch, and their work resulting in a lot of self-introspection.
This really hits the nail on the head — like, who is Lorde writing for? The Lorde Industrial Complex or people who seek out experience through music? You’ve got to have real confidence in yourself and your kudos to replace showing with telling — when the substance is lacking, no matter how dynamic your identity and mythology is, that’s not gonna cut it.
thats my main gripe with this article 😂 if she hadnt had such a successful and acclaimed first album we would probably not be holding her to such ludicrously high standards. shes not writing for a pulitzer here, shes writing about her own life and experiences as many artists do, and i personally still found it relatable, even though i am also not a millionaire popstar.
I loved the first two albums and then… not so much. Re showing (not telling) what it’s like to be a reckless pilled-up party girl, I think she actually really did do this on Pure Heroine and Melodrama (eg: “I’d ask your friend to drive but he can hardly see/We'll end up painted on the road, red and chrome, all the broken glass sparkling. I guess we're partying” really captures a moment!)
To compare an artist to another artist is impossible because every human is creating from their lived experience, whether they are writing from their imagination or autobiographically! Only David Bowie could have created Ziggy Stardust!
However in defense of autobiographical lyrics, women's voices and experiences have been suppressed, denied and dismissed for centuries, the autobiographical song is a place an artist can share a narrative -- it is art. Joni Mitchell initially received backlash for writing the autobiographical album Blue, people thought it was too personal.
In alternative universe, Lorde could have written an album about an imaginary scenario, and it still might not have resonated with your life experiences. It's okay to not personally connect with an artist's work, like friends who used to share a lot in common in high school but grow apart in college. That doesn't mean that the art is bad.
And as Prince himself said, "I'm not a woman, I'm not a man, I am something that you'll never understand!"
I was thinking about this today actually. Today’s music artists are selling themselves and their experience & people are just obsessed with them as a person instead of really actually relating to the music & it meaning something to them personally. I think the greats in music wrote things that were universally understood or challenged the way you understood the world you live in. Everything (including music) feels very superficial right now, & I think people are getting tired of it. I do think the tides will shift soon though💫
i’m curious why you think it can’t be a both/and. i really don’t think people would care about the artist if they didn’t connect to the songs personally. plus, i think specific details elevate the emotional impact of writing. when written well, lyrics being specific creates an emotional experience that is universal.
I’m not saying it can’t be both. To write something genuine you have to have felt/experienced it, I just think some artists music is almost too specific to their own experience. But they clearly all have fanbases so it’s working for some people & many don’t mind it. I just think for me personally, a lot of songs lack deeper substance. But it’s all just perspective, I understand many people would disagree with me.
she became a pop-star while still an adolescent. she's never lived an interesting life. her music is a reflection of the shallowness and narcissism of the life she's lived.
This perfectly explains why the narrative around this album rollout has felt so frustrating. Lorde is trying to self-mythologize without any substance to mythologize. Also, it’s frustrating to see people always cite her going off birth control as essential to this rollout without mentioning that going off the pill made her realize she had pmdd and consequently needed an iud (which is still a form of birth control).
that’s a copper IUD in the X-ray - it doesn’t contain any hormones
How can you tell?
sorry about that- i know both can show up on x-rays. i’ll edit the original comment.
I completely agree. I feel like this album is another step back. She's surrounded herself with celebrities instead of true artists and it shows. She's 28, in the prime of her life, its been FOUR years since her last album and this is what we get? I think this is a reflection of how much social media and pop culture she is CONSUMING instead of CREATING. At least with solar power I felt like she was experimenting and it felt like it was a time capsule of that moment in time for her. It felt genuine. This album/songs anyone could of made them. Will forever be a Lorde fan. Just hoping she comes back to what makes Lorde LORDE.
This album/songs anyone could of made them.
She has a song about anorexia, if anything it’s the audience missing things and then declaring she’s no longer “authentic” because her confessionals aren’t about themselves
yes! justice for solar power, i feel like she let the hate on it get to her and she made a poor attempt to go back to her melodrama/ribs angst.
100% solar power was a much more inconsistent album (& had some pretty low lows) but there was a certain creative vision and had much more interesting songwriting. i loved some tracks and hated others, but it really felt like something with purpose.
totally agree!! i think it was more ambitious and i respected it for that, i also liked how it came from a place of artistic expression rather than a desire to hit sales targets (sue me but the direction of virgin makes it feel like this). i think solar power was also a great album the more you listened to it and it redefined lorde as a more versatile artist for me. i loved stoned at the nail salon, big star & oceanic feeling, some of my fave songs ever!!
I agree completely. I have so many great memories with solar power, felt so personal.
This is a criminally under considered piece of writing. Just because you don’t relate to it doesn’t mean it isn’t relatable.
You bemoan that What Was That doesn’t explicitly evoke the feelings of being on MDMA yet omit the directly following line:
“I remember saying then, “This is the best cigarette of my life”
Imagine a mundane action that suddenly becomes the best experience of your life - that’s MDMA for you.
Not to mention:
“Indio haze, we’re in a sandstorm and it knocks me out”
…. If you’re looking for metaphor, there it is.
The fact that you’re confused how coming of birth control can both evoke the incredible drug-like feelings of ovulation AND an expansion of gender is concerning to me. They don’t have to be related to both be true. Birth control is literally regulating a persons hormones - coming off it means becoming unregulated so experiencing gender in a different way while also experiencing ovulation for the first time is not inherently conflicting.
I have to say as well that the main point of Man of The Year is not to describe how exactly it feels to her to be masculine, but to express her anxiety and vulnerability in becoming someone different. She feels different, altered, and cries “who’s gonna love me like this?” That’s as universal as it comes, my beloved.
I believe those who find this album too self centred could try becoming less self centred themselves. Step out of your body, imagine being in someone else’s, find similarities and contrasts. That is where the magic is.
Agree with you— I did feel underwhelmed by the album but more so because of the production being more spare compared to her other albums (but then again this is a personal preference). But one thing I can’t deny is that Lorde is an evocative writer. I find the frustration that she isn’t explaining things enough an alarming take from a writer. Why is the task of imagination something that we cannot undertake for ourselves?
This is so well-said.
Shapeshifter is gorgeous. Such a great song, my one gripe is that I wish she belted twice at the end instead of just once LOL
My guess as to why her music sucks now is she’s not normal anymore. Those things she wrote about when she was younger, Pure Heroine and Melodrama, she was still… normal. Maybe not suburban normal on the second album but she hadn’t yet totally landed into her fame. Now she has, and she’s rich, and life is safe. I’m sure much of her emotional turmoil is synthetic since she has the inherent protections and stability that comes with massive success. Just a thought 🤷♀️ I was 16/17 listening to Pure Heroine and it felt like someone was literally singing my experience- it was incredible. Not I’m almost 30, married with a baby… her strange self-exploration doesn’t hit the same way with those of us that have actually grown up.
Maybe you don't relate as much because your life doesn't mirror hers in the same way it used to. Doesn't mean she hasn't matured just because she's not married with a kid. Strange self-exploration is what great art is all about.
Good point! 😊
Were you impressed by this album?
Ya I thought it was outstanding personally
Wow! That’s really high praise. Love that art connects with some of us, and not with others- imagine how boring it would be if we all loved the same things ❤️ can’t wait to see what her next album is like!
I agree, but adding on to that, the thing I love about Pure Heroine is that it’s so otherworldly. You can tell that much of the inspiration is from the ordinary life of a suburban teen, but she didn’t write relatable songs about being a suburban teen, she dressed them up as something much more epic, at times even fantastical or post-apocalyptic. It feels like the work of someone bored with her ordinary life, so she imagined a much more interesting one. And now her life is interesting enough for her that she just writes about it in a much more straightforward way, but it’s not as interesting for me as it is for her.
"'MDMA in the back garden, blow our pupils up,' offering nothing more than a description of a physiological effect of the drug."
Well yeah, out of context that’s right. But within the song, it reflects a memory from a past relationship—one that felt euphoric, without boundaries, and emotionally open, much like the effects of MDMA. It goes with the album’s themes of love, vulnerability, and how life, relationships, etc. are all like a blur of memories and you wake up one day like "what was that, what happened?". There's also a nod to how MDMA therapy helped her perform more freely, connecting with the audience in a raw, open way.
I think there's more to this album that you should dig into, maybe watch an interview of hers, read the Genius lyrical explanations or something. She's just an open book on this record, she's not trying to self-mythologize but actually the total opposite -- she's showing the poetry in the mundanity of everyday city life. Pure Heroine was like how she imagined being an adult was through Tumblr posts, Melodrama was wreaking havoc in her 20s and like the title, it's a saturated, heightened version of real life. Solar Power we can all agree sucked. But this album is just her keeping it real. Maybe it's more skeletal, but I think the substance comes from the honesty and lucidity of it. And I'd say MDMA, a throwaway drug referenced, is actually what helped her get to this point.
Just my 2 cents, sorry for the comment length. Your writing is good I just think maybe if you like Lorde's music a lot maybe this record will grow on you.
Such a great take, totally agree. I really like the way she leans into simple language on this record, it feels visceral and raw. She did the flourished, romantic language for Melodrama, and the unplugged, mystical language for Solar Power. I think Virgin has some really interesting writing, not to mention how well the production works with it.
“it feels visceral and raw” lol. No wonder you loved this album.
Perhaps it's a reflection of the era. All I see are young girls looking into screens, at themselves.
this makes me curious— do you think that is always a bad thing, or would it depend on the quality of art made? and it makes me think: in what other era have young girls, and women, felt so free to examine themselves in art? so i would see that as a positive culturally. at least the good art outweighs the bad, imo.
It’s endless naval gazing when our world is falling apart and we need to be organizing with one another in our communities to standup against things, for things, and build things to challenge a big world that’s trying to take us down…not just endlessly contemplate about ourselves (some is great but endlessly makes you sad and stagnant). I want more provocative artists in this era like Sinead O’Conner.
interesting! i think there can be room for both kinds of artists. :) we are fighting for individuals as much as our communities overall. considering the small details of our lives and being able to connect to others emotionally, i would say, means the “naval gazing” can transcend into a meaningful, universal experience. and plenty of artists connect their experiences to wider culture, so they do both— one i think of is Sam Fender. i can see you seeing that as more useful culturally, but overall, i find myself appreciating both kinds of writing, since there is beauty in living in someone else’s head for a bit.
I think there’s room for both but I really don’t see many mainstream artists moving far beyond thinking about themselves in terms of gender and sexual identity, romance, and careers. Sure that’s important but like can we get over ourselves and think about something bigger
I think your essay is absolutely spot on. However, I don’t think that this is a problem that starts and ends with Lorde, but is a kind of self-centeredness that I find in a lot of music today. Whether it’s music that glamorizes or is a lament of fame, there are very few artists who are trying to tell a story. Their self-image is so binding that it stands in front of them, stopping them from seeing the people they are trying to reach or the greater point of music/art. Idk, I suppose I just think that a lot of artists are snapping a catchy tune, going viral, and then we rinse and repeat. There is nothing that truly sticks anymore because selfish art can only really speak to the person who made it.
writing lyrics about specific experiences can at times be the most universal songs to connect to emotionally. and i would say the same for poetry. it would be quite boring without the unique details of the writers’ lives. at the very least, i’m curious where the line is between self-reflective vs selfish art.
I think you bring up an excellent point. I didn’t mean to say that writing/singing about personal experience is selfish or self-centered because I whole heartedly agree that personal experiences can touch the deepest, intimate levels of humanity (literally the tradition of lyric poetry). However, I think there’s a difference between talking about a specific experience from a perspective that tells a story and shows>tells versus this view of “my pov is the only one that matters,” and I think this shows in the fact that there are not really any unique details in a lot of this music. It’s like you are listening to thoughts and feelings about a situation that are all so abstract, which are important yes but then there aren’t really concrete images to hold on to. But yeah I think it’s not a hard line, and I definitely want to flesh out that distinction more!
Must say I’m not a huge fan of calling someone unimaginative just because their work didn’t resonate with you, celebrity or not! I would counter that the aim of that song wasn’t to describe MDMA, just as she’s not asking for lyrical comparisons to a Bob Dylan or Joni Mitchell. I agree she hasn't fully explained why she feels like a man, but then again, she has told us she doesn’t understand it fully herself yet. I respect the need for music critique. It’s a great album to me - I love the creative direction, and what a unique sound on sex and lust - but personally I think the stronger point here is what you touched on with regard to wealthy pop stars being out of touch, and their work resulting in a lot of self-introspection.
This really hits the nail on the head — like, who is Lorde writing for? The Lorde Industrial Complex or people who seek out experience through music? You’ve got to have real confidence in yourself and your kudos to replace showing with telling — when the substance is lacking, no matter how dynamic your identity and mythology is, that’s not gonna cut it.
The album was falling flat for me. You’ve captured exactly why!
ditto!
Sorry you didn’t find the new Lorde album as captivating as the Beatles or Bob Dylan 😂
thats my main gripe with this article 😂 if she hadnt had such a successful and acclaimed first album we would probably not be holding her to such ludicrously high standards. shes not writing for a pulitzer here, shes writing about her own life and experiences as many artists do, and i personally still found it relatable, even though i am also not a millionaire popstar.
I loved the first two albums and then… not so much. Re showing (not telling) what it’s like to be a reckless pilled-up party girl, I think she actually really did do this on Pure Heroine and Melodrama (eg: “I’d ask your friend to drive but he can hardly see/We'll end up painted on the road, red and chrome, all the broken glass sparkling. I guess we're partying” really captures a moment!)
yess that’s one of my favorite lyrics from Melo
To compare an artist to another artist is impossible because every human is creating from their lived experience, whether they are writing from their imagination or autobiographically! Only David Bowie could have created Ziggy Stardust!
However in defense of autobiographical lyrics, women's voices and experiences have been suppressed, denied and dismissed for centuries, the autobiographical song is a place an artist can share a narrative -- it is art. Joni Mitchell initially received backlash for writing the autobiographical album Blue, people thought it was too personal.
In alternative universe, Lorde could have written an album about an imaginary scenario, and it still might not have resonated with your life experiences. It's okay to not personally connect with an artist's work, like friends who used to share a lot in common in high school but grow apart in college. That doesn't mean that the art is bad.
And as Prince himself said, "I'm not a woman, I'm not a man, I am something that you'll never understand!"
I was thinking about this today actually. Today’s music artists are selling themselves and their experience & people are just obsessed with them as a person instead of really actually relating to the music & it meaning something to them personally. I think the greats in music wrote things that were universally understood or challenged the way you understood the world you live in. Everything (including music) feels very superficial right now, & I think people are getting tired of it. I do think the tides will shift soon though💫
It’s like influencer culture has infiltrated the music — but music has always been about so much more than just the artist
Yesssss 1000% agree
It's the Superfan Economy! The music is just a decoy to consume more about Them. It's terrifying to see how it's taken over everything.
i’m curious why you think it can’t be a both/and. i really don’t think people would care about the artist if they didn’t connect to the songs personally. plus, i think specific details elevate the emotional impact of writing. when written well, lyrics being specific creates an emotional experience that is universal.
I’m not saying it can’t be both. To write something genuine you have to have felt/experienced it, I just think some artists music is almost too specific to their own experience. But they clearly all have fanbases so it’s working for some people & many don’t mind it. I just think for me personally, a lot of songs lack deeper substance. But it’s all just perspective, I understand many people would disagree with me.
brains on validationslop when songs aren’t relatable to them : this is bad and an affront to me !
maybe you’re the myopic self centred one and not lorde
she became a pop-star while still an adolescent. she's never lived an interesting life. her music is a reflection of the shallowness and narcissism of the life she's lived.