After more than four years of salivating for new music, we can officially say that our Savior, Lorde, is back with her new album, Solar Power. This is Lorde’s third studio album produced by long-time collaborator Jack Antonoff which includes her first released singles – Solar Power, Stoned at the Nail Salon, and Mood Ring.
Described as her weed album, Solar Power is the follow-up to the critically acclaimed and cult classic sophomore album, Melodrama. The album is a change of direction from Lorde’s previous records, leaning more on psychedelic folk and folk indie.She stated that nature has been the inspiration for Solar Power, specifically her recent trip to Antarctica.
Pre-Solar Power: How did it all started?
After the Melodrama era, Lorde was rarely seen in public and has not been active on all her social media accounts. She updated her fans through an email stating the details of her upcoming album. In 2019, she then took a trip to Antarctica in 2019 (the place of birth of Solar Power) for her global climate advocacy, where she also planned to release GOING SOUTH, a 100-page photo book documenting her trip to Antarctica. Fans found Easter eggs of Lorde’s comeback when the singer was announced as a headliner at the Primavera Festival.
Read: Lorde might be dropping two new songs this month and fans are freaking out
After announcing the album artwork, she also shared to the fans that she will be on tour in 2020 as part of the promotion of her comeback project. The album cycle is a game changer as she also incorporated a disc-less, eco-conscious CD called “music box'' to reduce carbon footprint. She shared, “I decided early on in the process of making this album that I also wanted to create an environmentally kind, forward-thinking alternative to the CD.”
If Lorde’s mission is to take us on a trip to a beach, have early campfires, and feel the spirit of nature, then we are glad to accompany her on this carefree trip.
The Path
The Path started as the album opener, and sets the mood of what can we expect from Solar Power. This is the song where she reflects on how she juggles her public and private life.
Favorite line/s: Now if you're looking for a savior, well that's not me
Solar Power
She started the era with this summer classic first single, Solar Power. The single shows what Lorde can bring in the new era - a brighter, more blissful side - shedding away her dark and rebel roots. The track was written alongside her longtime pal, Jack Antonoff with backing vocals from her heiresses Phoebe Bridgers and Clairo.
Favorite line/s: I'm kinda like a prettier Jesus
Read: Lorde has risen, and she's giving us midsommar vibes
California
California is a song about how fame killed her life. The moment Carole King gave her a Grammy was the moment she realized her life is no longer the same. Alcohol has been her form of meditation and an aid to her lingering sadness.
Favorite line/s:
I stood up, the room exploded, and I
Knew that's it, I'll never be the same
Stoned at the Nail Salon
Stoned at the Nail Salon is a folk ballad accompanied by stripped production, about her reflections on growing older and the progress of time. In her interview for Apple Music, she mentioned that the song was her quietest among all the songs on the album and more inclined with introspection. Many compare this track to Lana Del Rey’s Wild at Heart which was co-produced by Jack Antonoff.
Favorite line/s:
'Cause all the music you loved at sixteen, you'll grow out of
And all the times they will change, it'll all come around
Fallen Fruit
Fallen Fruit was like her open letter to her parents’ generation as the product of the global climate crisis.
Favorite line/s:
We'll disappear in the cover of the rain
Took the great minds and the vapers
Secrets from a Girl (Who’s Seen it All)
Secrets from a Girl (Who’s Seen it All) is a very special song for her because it’s all about addressing the younger Lorde. She wants this song to be one-on-one talk with her younger self and talk about being a grown woman. Robyn also provided spoken word on the outro of the song.
Favorite line/s:
Your dreams and inner visions
All your mystical ambitions, they won't let you down
Do your best to trust all the rays of light
The Man with the Axe
She basically confirmed her new boyfriend in The Man with the Axe. She describes him as a regular office guy with silver hair.
Favorite line/s:
And your office job and your silver hair
But our shapes in the dark are the reason I've stayed
For all these years
Dominoes
The eighth track, Dominoes kinda feels like a continuation of The Man with the Axe but more into the aftermath of your ex-boyfriend’s relationship.
Favorite line/s:
And I watch you flick them down like dominoes
Must feel good being mister-start-again
Big Star
When you ask what’s the most personal song from the whole album, I think it’s Big Star. This is an emotional tribute to her late dog, Pearl. Lorde wrote this song even before Pearl died while sitting at the piano.
Favorite line/s:
I toss up if it's worth it now every time I get on a plane
I've got so much to tеll you and not enough time to do it in
Leader of a New Regime
My only complaint with Leader of a New Regime is why is it one and a half minute. It’s about her fantasies of being a pop star under the impact of global crisis. It was deemed as the Bowie-influenced track for its haunting and dark meaning.
Favorite line/s:
Free the keepers of the burnt-out scene another day
Lust and paranoia reign supreme
We need the leader of a new regime
Mood Ring
Mood Ring is a mellow stripped track, Lorde was inspired by her exploration of spirituality culture and modern day mirroring of “flower power.” The single also saw a change not just in Lorde’s musical direction, but also her appearance where she turned into a Blonde spiritual goddess, and she can step on us anytime!
Favorite line/s:
Plants and celebrity news, all the vitamins I consume
Let's fly somewherе eastern, they'll havе what I need
Oceanic Feeling
The final track, Oceanic Feeling was a personal favorite by Lorde. The main inspiration of this track is her hometown, New Zealand and the love for her family, and how she reminisces her past and present persona.
Favorite line/s:
Oh, look, the rays are in the bay now
Can you hear the waves and the cicadas all around?
I can make anything real
Lorde is an enigmatic musical force
The album may be divisive to fans and critics but her vision is for everyone to be happy amidst the struggles of the pandemic. Solar Power may not surpass the success of Melodrama, but what I really want to commend with this Renaissance of Lorde is her ability to write. The album is also a testament of Lorde’s diverse musicality. From being an anti-pop rebel to a melancholic youth culture icon and now showing who she really is, Lorde is clearly taking a route where she doesn’t care whether her music will sell or not but rather taking her music to next level effortlessly. Lorde is a pop lonewolf and not an artist begging everyone to love or understand her, which really cemented her as a legendary songwriter and an inevitable force.
Stream Lorde’s Solar Power here.
━━ Written By Cyruss Eugenio
