Lorde - Solar Power ALBUM REVIEW
I wonder how much this review is gonna be shadow-banned because of the cover…
So, everybody knows who Lorde is. I don’t have to get into it that much, but I’m gonna talk about how I feel about her. Her first two albums, Pure Heroine and Melodrama, are both pretty great, even if it’s a bit of a hot take that I prefer Pure Heroine for its left-field pop. Well, left-field for 2013 mainstream pop. Melodrama, though, turned into baroque pop and ended up being one of the most critically-acclaimed albums of the 2010s and beloved by her fans. After that, it’s been four years of complete radio silence from her. Then, out of nowhere, a new single called “Solar Power” was announced and released, along with the announcement of the album of the same name. While I did enjoy it, there were some… interesting choices for its personnel. It has background vocals from Phoebe Bridgers and Clairo, and the entire album will be produced by Jack Antonoff. That was met with pushback, with Lorde even saying in an interview that this is her album, not Jack’s. That’s really how it should be, honestly. So, Solar Power is here and I’ve listened to it. Let’s get into it and see how it is.
Look, I gotta be totally honest on this part. Even if Melodrama isn’t my favorite Lorde album, I can’t stress enough that it was a massively successful album for her. It was gonna be tough to live up to that, and sadly, I don’t think it does. In the past, I’ve praised Jack Antonoff’s production choices even if they are a little samey. Here, though, it feels incredibly phoned-in. The comments that Lorde has made about Antonoff still stand, though, so let’s focus on her for now. When it comes to her writing, it feels like she’s trapped in her own little bubble, for better or for worse. There are some points where I even feel like she doesn’t know what’s happening in the world, like when Jared Leto had gone camping without technology in February 2020 and came back in June 2020 but on a much bigger scale. Hell, I don’t even know if she’d know about Covid-19 based on what I’ve heard. If that isn’t intentional, good for her…? If it is, though, this is such a massive fumble for someone of her level of fame.
I know that sounded negative, but when we focus on Lorde’s writing and even vocals at points, Solar Power is one of the biggest disappointments of the year. The production has some highlights, I’ll give it that, but Lorde’s the credited artist on the album. It’s pretty underwhelming to see such a revered artist stumble and I certainly hope that this is just a one-off miss. Along with that, it better not be another four years until the next album.
5/10
Listen here
YouTube Music
Solar Power is a Universal release.
So, everybody knows who Lorde is. I don’t have to get into it that much, but I’m gonna talk about how I feel about her. Her first two albums, Pure Heroine and Melodrama, are both pretty great, even if it’s a bit of a hot take that I prefer Pure Heroine for its left-field pop. Well, left-field for 2013 mainstream pop. Melodrama, though, turned into baroque pop and ended up being one of the most critically-acclaimed albums of the 2010s and beloved by her fans. After that, it’s been four years of complete radio silence from her. Then, out of nowhere, a new single called “Solar Power” was announced and released, along with the announcement of the album of the same name. While I did enjoy it, there were some… interesting choices for its personnel. It has background vocals from Phoebe Bridgers and Clairo, and the entire album will be produced by Jack Antonoff. That was met with pushback, with Lorde even saying in an interview that this is her album, not Jack’s. That’s really how it should be, honestly. So, Solar Power is here and I’ve listened to it. Let’s get into it and see how it is.
Look, I gotta be totally honest on this part. Even if Melodrama isn’t my favorite Lorde album, I can’t stress enough that it was a massively successful album for her. It was gonna be tough to live up to that, and sadly, I don’t think it does. In the past, I’ve praised Jack Antonoff’s production choices even if they are a little samey. Here, though, it feels incredibly phoned-in. The comments that Lorde has made about Antonoff still stand, though, so let’s focus on her for now. When it comes to her writing, it feels like she’s trapped in her own little bubble, for better or for worse. There are some points where I even feel like she doesn’t know what’s happening in the world, like when Jared Leto had gone camping without technology in February 2020 and came back in June 2020 but on a much bigger scale. Hell, I don’t even know if she’d know about Covid-19 based on what I’ve heard. If that isn’t intentional, good for her…? If it is, though, this is such a massive fumble for someone of her level of fame.
I know that sounded negative, but when we focus on Lorde’s writing and even vocals at points, Solar Power is one of the biggest disappointments of the year. The production has some highlights, I’ll give it that, but Lorde’s the credited artist on the album. It’s pretty underwhelming to see such a revered artist stumble and I certainly hope that this is just a one-off miss. Along with that, it better not be another four years until the next album.
5/10
Listen here
YouTube Music
Solar Power is a Universal release.
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