The Lorde has Returned

ARABELLA RITCHIE

Returning from her four-year hiatus, on Friday the 10th of June, New Zealand singersongwriter Lorde released a new song and accompanying music video called Solar Power. The opening lyric states that she “can’t stand the cold!” Lorde is not alone in that sentiment, as many south of the equator begrudgingly don layer upon layer as temperatures plummet. The timing of the release of this summer bop seems unconventional for the New Zealand native. However, spending most of her time in New York last summer, recording her third studio album, Lorde is well acclimatised to the northernhemisphere seasons.

Along with ‘Solar Power’, Lorde announced an album with the same title in her newsletter, describing “her” (the album) as “sexy, playful, feral and free.” The album is said to be a “celebration of the natural world.” With a release date of 20 August 2021, Solar Power was declared to the world as Lorde’s third album. Not having posted on Instagram since 2018, many fans weren’t hopeful for new music anytime soon. However, some kept the faith, most notable being the Twitter account @DidLorde that tweeted every day updating their followers on if Lorde had released an album. When the cover art for Solar Power dropped three days prior to the song release, the internet went crazy. Without even having heard the album, fans had a feeling this would be unlike Lorde’s previous work. The bright yellow hues of Lorde’s outfit contrasting with her sun-kissed skin and the deep blue sky is a big development from her previous albums, the cover art of which both share sombre colour palettes.

It seems her fans were right. Lorde is departing from the moody atmosphere of her most recent album Melodrama. Solar Power is an ode to summer, refusal of winter and all the negative things that seem to bundle together with the cold weather. With Phoebe Bridgers and Clairo providing the backing vocals and Jack Antonoff’s influence in producing and writing, Solar Power is a playful track that compels us southern-hemisphere folk to be excited for the summertime. Lorde describes it best in her newsletter, “It’s about that infectious, flirtatious summer energy that takes hold of us all.” This summer, Lorde wants us all “vibrating at the highest level.” She sees “acid green, aquamarine”, the colours of the ocean, gemstones, and others’ envy towards her. Lorde’s “kinda like a prettier Jesus” this summer, manifesting the best version of herself while also making fun of how similar her stage name is to the Lord Jesus’.

Solar Power doesn’t fit with her previous work. Lorde has abandoned the themes of heartbreak and escapism in exchange for bliss and harmony. In her newsletter, Lorde described the album as an “attempt at immortalising the deep, transcendent feelings” she experiences when outdoors. Quite the contrast from her sophomore album ‘Melodrama’, a concept album that documents the emotions that ensue from a house party and pays homage to the instability and emotion-fuelled experiences that comes with being in your early 20s. ‘Solar Power’ shows the next stage of Lorde’s life as she seeks balance, security and ultimately contentment.

Lorde’s relationship to the seasons and their effect on her mood is recognised throughout her discography. In Hard Feelings, the sixth track on ‘Melodrama’, Lorde pins her failed relationship on the cold weather, “I guess this is the winter”, “winds of regret and mistrust”, “leave us right here in the cold”. Summer counteracts these gloomy moods, with warm weather bringing “cheeks in high colour” and “girls dancing in the sand”. Lorde attributes this to that “solar-olar-olar power”!

Solar Power officially marks the beginning of Lorde’s comeback, a refreshing new era of selfworth, carelessness and bliss. Even though we cannot yet blast this track from speakers on the beach, listening from earbuds makes a wintery commute considerably more bearable. Warmer days are ahead and Lorde’s got us covered with the perfect summer soundtrack.