Move over, brat summer. Lorde summer is here.
Less than two weeks ago, New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde began the album rollout for her fourth project, “Virgin,” which is set to release June 27. Spearheaded by the album’s lead single “What Was That,” the artistic direction of “Virgin” seems to signal an exciting return to Lorde’s alternative and electropop roots.
Let’s face it: Lorde’s most recent 2021 album, “Solar Power,” was her weakest work to date. Although there are standout tracks such as “Mood Ring” and “Secrets from a Girl (Who’s Seen it All)” — “Solar Power” was lackluster and a bit too toned down. The album was a tribute to nature inspired by Lorde’s trip to Antarctica, but throughout much of the project, Lorde’s shift to head voice and airy production sounded as though she was trying to fill someone else’s shoes.
In other words, Lorde’s music is known for its moodiness and heart — from the weariness of one’s teenage years in her debut “Pure Heroine” to the heartbreak and solitude in her sophomore album “Melodrama.” Why, all of a sudden in “Solar Power,” was she so happy?!
Lorde’s feature in Charli XCX’s “Girl, so confusing” marked a turning point for the better. Her earnest songwriting shone through in the back-and-forth banter of two artists working out their differences through music.
For Lorde, “What Was That” is a familiar return to electropop and synth-pop. The song’s production is not revolutionary, but unlike the clouded-over layering in “Solar Power,” Lorde’s voice rings clear and powerful. Her unique lyrics paint a hazy picture of navigating a breakup that feels full of ecstasy: “I wear smoke like a wedding veil / Make a meal I won’t eat / Step out into the street, alone in a sea / It comes over me.”
Upon first listen, “What Was That” sounds weird. The rhythm seems to make no sense, as Lorde’s lyrics pause at times when the backtrack seems to heighten, and vice versa. But after listening on repeat, the track grows on you.
Perhaps the unevenness is a sonical representation of the miscommunication between Lorde and her lover in “What Was That.” They were simply never in sync. Lorde’s past relationship becomes clearer: It was passionate and exciting, but unsustainable.
Lorde dedicated eight years of her life to her ex-boyfriend Justin Warren, who is 17 years older than her. When they started dating, she was still a teenager. The couple separated in 2023, when Lorde was in her late twenties.
Having the leading track of an album titled “Virgin” be about a former boyfriend with whom you did hard drugs (“MDMA in the back garden, blow our pupils up”) and smoked with (“I remember saying then, ‘This is the best cigarette of my life’”) seems counterintuitive. Ultimately, this is not what the album’s title is about.
Through cryptic posts, Lorde is slowly revealing “Virgin’s” meaning. Last week, Lorde teased its album cover: a faded blue scan of a spinal cord overlaid on top of a darker pelvic bone, with a zipper in the center and nipple-like shapes on either side. This cover is much less literal than that of her past works — deviating from simple text, melodramatic paintings and cheeky summer vibes.
Consequently, Lorde posted definitions of the word “virgin” on her Instagram story using screenshots, stating that a virgin is a woman “not attached to a man,” and that a virgin can also be a “man-woman or androgynous person.”
So, what is “Virgin?”
Maybe this isn’t a conversation about gender or sexuality, but rather, identity. In “Virgin,” Lorde is saying that she can be everything and whatever she wants to be. She is washed anew — again her old self and fully in touch with who she’s meant to be. Perhaps the release of “Virgin” next month will cleanse us all.
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