Saturday, June 12, 2021

Lorde brings the sunshine with 'Solar Power'

She’s back. Lorde, the original queen of sad-pop, has returned with new music for the first time in 4 years in the form of a brand new summer single ‘Solar Power’.

Since Lorde has been gone we’ve seen the rise of Billie Eilish and more recently Olivia Rodrigo who have taken the teenage popstar crown, but now Lorde is 24 and has matured both as a songwriter and a person from those early days at 16 with smash-hit ‘Royals’.

Since then she has released 2 critically acclaimed albums and has rightfully obtained worldwide fame and legions of fans hanging on every word from her emails (the only way she communicates with her fans since temporarily leaving social media). 

In the past, Lorde has stated in-depth how her synaesthesia has helped her to formulate albums in her head, associating colours with songs. This really shines through on ‘Solar Power ’.


Gone are the rich purples of 'Melodrama' and in their place is the more natural “acid green, aquamarine” to represent this new period of life for her. The summer is here and this is the sound of the heatwave that has been taking over the UK this past week. The track itself begins with a gentle meander through the journey from winter towards summer and the happiness that comes with the sunshine (helped along with beautiful backing vocals by no other than Phoebe Bridgers and Clairo) and ends with a 'Screamadelica' inspired bassline that'll be stuck in your head days after listening. 


The reason Lorde’s new music is so highly anticipated is that we are watching a young woman growing up in the public eye with her art reflecting that. We’ve heard the life of a 16-year-old in ‘Pure Heroine’, stepping into her 20s with 'Melodrama' and now we're seeing how Lorde navigates an especially crazy world in the 2020's. And there's no better woman to take us through that journey than Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor. Welcome back Lorde, it's been too long.


Dominic Asher

@domasher99 @dom.asher

Image: Solar Power Official Single Artwork




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