Oh Lorde: A New Album and a Bad Look

The album was meh.

Lorde is a good artist. In fact, Lorde is more than a good artist—she has proven herself to be a unique and exemplary artist through her first album, Pure Heroine. This album has such an incredible feel to it, one I have not experienced with many or any other albums. It is dark, raw, nostalgic, contemporary, and creative, burning with a simple brilliance. Also, each song is strong on its own. The first line of the first song of this album is “Don’t you think that it’s boring how people talk,” which completely sums up the alternative (almost punk) feel to her music. The song begins with a flat, low synthesizer, after which Lorde begins singing alongside some electronic drum beats. That synthesizer is essential to her identity, I feel, as it holds part of that ethereal and nostalgic feeling. The next song, “400 Lux,” begins in a similar fashion, with a higher-pitched synthesizer and some electronic drums. There are even some glitchy sounds that sneak into the song at certain places, adding engaging musical texture. And the layered vocals that show up! It all becomes so wonderful to listen to. I could go on and on. Everyone knows “Royals” as it was played on the radio constantly when this album came out. “Ribs” is a personal favorite of mine, as well as “Buzzcut Season,” “Still Sane.” and “A World Alone.” Everything on this album is not only coherent, born from one sound, one artist, but each song is uniquely beautiful and always a pleasure to listen to. I wish I could say the same about her recent album…

Before we even get to the recent album, I will have to make the observation that her music has, in my opinion, gotten progressively worse. I know that her newer music is popular with many people, but that’s why I’m writing this, which is to be a voice for Lorde’s past, what she once was and what she could still be. She has, however, become much too influenced by contemporary trends, gravitating towards a “bubblegum pop” sound. A previous album of hers, Melodrama, also has several interesting songs, although it’s no longer the same kind of music we heard in the first album. “Green Light” utilizes a piano which has not been heard before in her music, so the album begins with a different sound. The song also accelerates with regards to energy and tempo, becoming something much louder than she previously produced. I do love the way that “Sober” begins, and we hear many new instruments in this one as well.

Virgin was released on the 27th of June this year. It contains a total of 11 songs lasting a total of 34 minutes, which is one song more and 3 minutes shorter than her first album. The album cover provokes a sense of slight bewilderment, tying into the theme of the title, but I will focus on the musicality of her songs at this moment. 

We begin with “Hammer” which made me quite excited when I read the name, because it suggests a hard-hitting first song, something heavy or energetic. I suppose I was hoping for something heavy, like her first album, but was instead greeted with—how do I put this—an auditory grenade. The first minute of the song is okay, still quite light and poppy, then some piano comes in, and, well, at about a minute and fifteen seconds, harsh and almost threatening synthesizers begin sounding—is this enjoyable for anyone? It happens again around two minutes and thirteen seconds into the song. Maybe I will grow to like it, maybe I will grow to hate it more—who knows. The next song is named “What Was That” and it was released before the rest of the album, so I was already familiar with the song. To be honest, I quite like this song, despite its similarity to her newer music as opposed to her older music. It feels like it came from her second album, or was maybe made right after her first album. The vague chorus gives it more of a cheap and shallow feel (“what was that” is one of the most vague hooks I’ve ever heard) but the low synthesizer and dull snare on beats two and four make for something simple and reminiscent of an art that only Lorde can create.

The third song is called “Shapeshifter” and the beginning intrigues me for its more underground, drum and bass feel. Then Lorde starts speaking the lyrics, which is an immediate turn-off. Why speak the lyrics? It takes until about thirty five seconds for her to actually start singing, and the song also features the characteristic layering of voices that differentiates her new music from her old music—and not in a good way. About a minute in, we hear something reminiscent of her earliest music, but it’s not quite recognizable because of how fast the song is, and this might be one of the issues with her newer music. It’s an issue with all music, really—the need to be faster and flashier. At a minute and thirty seconds, is that a cello I hear? It’s new and not unwelcome. This song is overall intriguing because it has some nice, new elements combined with some older elements reimagined. I do like the rise of energy, particularly how it’s felt at the end of the song as she belts it out—that’s what I want! But something is lacking in the song, and I think if she slowed it down a bit, did less talking, and incorporated more of her darker sounds from the first album, it would be perfect.

“Man Of The Year” starts off a bit too simplistic. You can’t really make a song out of just your voice and one stringed instrument unless you’re Adele. It’s simple, and feels slow, but is still faster than it needs to be. I cannot exactly call it a good change of pace, but I can see it as operating that way for some people listening to this album. Around a minute and fifty seconds, a synthesizer kicks in, and that excites me, and then thirty seconds later, the energy amps up again, which makes me finish the song more pleased than when it started. In contrast, “Current Affairs” does something interesting at the beginning, which is, it reminds me of Mumford and Sons, which is not something I thought I would ever say (as a Mumford and Sons enjoyer, but once again, preferring their first two albums over all others). The on-beat bass kick definitely adds to this feeling, and then that encompassing synth noise can be felt. There are a lot of good things to be said about this song, but once again, it does not command the room like that first album. 

The next three songs are forgettable, so that’s exactly what I am going to do. On to the next!

“If She Could See Me Now” has so much potential, my goodness, but again she leans too much into her new, poppy rhythm. The song is too fast, with all of the newer sounds and none of the old ones. I really like the chorus and some of the funky instrumental stuff going on around it but it falls short of my expectations.

And now we arrive at the last song, “David.” I started listening to this song absolutely expecting to dislike it, but I think I have to admit, it holds the dark, raw texture of her first album—in a new way. It’s something about the combination of the eighth-note synthesizer floating throughout the song and the low bass throb that permeates from the beginning, and the staggered effect starting at around two minutes and forty seconds captivates me entirely, followed by a sudden cut to just her voice, ending the song and the album with a line that encompasses the message of the album, which is the question of love. And the layering of the vocals is more eclectic here, so it is appreciated. It leaves me hopeful that one day, Lorde will make something like Pure Heroine again, but also gives me some ease knowing that even if she doesn’t (Pure Heroine being some of her best music) that her newer music has the potential to go into an invigorating new direction having taken inspiration from her own first album.

“David” and “What Was That” are definitely the standout songs of the album, with everything else bleeding into one blob of mostly forgettable music. Am I disappointed? Yes. Should you be as well? Yes. Is there nothing of value in this album? No. Is Lorde still a great artist? Yes. Just because this one isn’t for me doesn’t mean it isn’t for you. But I insist upon the greatness of her first album and insist upon the need to embrace that voice and style as opposed to bringing in this “pop music” feel that has permeated her music since Melodrama. The teenage angst of the first album was also somewhat more interesting than the sex-life crisis of this album, but that’s just my opinion. I will reiterate that one of the issues I have with her newer songs is the tempo. Her newer music is too manic—her contemplative side has arguably more vibrancy.

So that’s her new album. Overall, not great. You can listen to it on YouTube, Spotify, and various other places. My final assessment is a kind 6/10, which is, of course, an F (but just barely).