Rating: 10/10
It’s not easy making great music — something few artists understand.
In the height of mass streaming parties and social media to boost popularity, many artists have abandoned the concept of a full album cycle in favor of get-hits-quick singles.
Then, there’s Lorde: the embodiment of taking your time. Once again, she’s followed the routine she’s used her entire career by waiting four years to release an album.
Her new album, “Virgin” is a testament to the necessity of taking proper space and time to let art simmer and take shape. Departing from the mellow, beachy sounds of 2021’s “Solar Power”, Lorde takes us to a new pop landscape in her discography with her fourth studio album.
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The production is noticeably vibrant on the album, switching to Jim E-Stack from her primary producer Jack Antonoff (“Melodrama” and “Solar Power.”)
In an April newsletter to her fans, she describes the new record as “bathwater, windows, ice, spit” in its essence and said its purpose is to document her femininity in all of its form.
By her own standards, she’s succeeded with this record. The language throughout is clear and the tracks present precise revelations instead of melodramatic epiphanies.
The pop star is often jokingly referred to as our “Lorde and savior” in modern pop culture, but Lorde confesses, “I’m ready to feel like I don’t have the answers,” in the album’s opening track “Hammer.” In this song, she addresses the pressure she faces of being viewed as a role model.
This is not a new sentiment; “Now if you’re looking for a saviour, well, that’s not me” she sings in her song “The Path” on her third studio album. However, it’s a new vulnerability she shares with her audience: the ability to make mistakes and grow — rather than her feeling like she has to lead the way for her audience.
On “Shapeshifter” Lorde expands on her experience with celebrity culture, “I’ve been up on the pedestal / But tonight I just want to fall,” speaking to her struggles with being in the limelight for nearly half her life.
Embracing her fame and social media was something she seemingly abandoned in her “Solar Power” era, but is something she’s facing head on with “Virgin.” This was immediately noticeable when the singer created a TikTok account in April to promote the album’s lead single, “What Was That.”
If you asked her 4 years ago what was going on in her life, the answer would have had nothing to do with award shows, big parties, or social media flexing with other celebrities. Nowadays, she’s out spotted with friends like Charli XCX, Addison Rae and Gracie Abrams; while consistently posting on Instagram.
“Man Of The Year” addresses some of the singer’s feelings on her gender identity, she sings “Now I’m broken open/ Let’s hear it for the man of the year.”
An interview with Rolling Stone clarified the New Zealander isn’t interested in “boxing it up,” in regards to labeling her expression with gender. Lorde describes this part of her femininity as “masc” in an emailed letter to fans prior to the album’s release in April.
In the outro, she chants “I didn’t think he’d appear/ Let’s hear it for the man of the year.”
The song encapsulates what seems like a prison break from gender norms forced upon women, especially those within the music industry. Lorde has never been one to dress things up nicely in her music, nor try to please the media by being a beauty queen.
But with track 5, “Favourite Daughter,” Lorde addresses the one person in her life she tries to please: her mother. She sings, “Scared of your anger/ In love with your whim” speaking to how conflicting emotions can be with one’s parent.
A feeling too relatable, when love and fear intersect and cause anxiety. “Cause I’m an actress, all of the medals I won for ya/ Panic attack just to be your favourite daughter,” she sings.
The singer has openly discussed her immense stage fright when it comes to performing. On The Late Night Show with Stephen Colbert, she shared that when she woke up the day after her MDMA therapy she knew “it’s over.”
The song dives into her emotions involving the relationship between her mother and her success as an artist: “breaking my back just hoping you’ll say I’m a star.”
The album’s closing track, “David”, shines to the top of Lorde’s entire discography — from the production progressing from somber and melancholic to transcendent in outer space, not to mention the heavenly vocals.
The song quite literally feels like an abduction as she sings “I don’t belong to anyone, ooh.”
Here, the production accelerates and heightens the euphoria of the song. Of course, no one needs to tell Lorde how to give sound a feeling.
In all, the most promising aspect of this new album is the familiar, melodramatic production Lorde is best known — and loved — for, but with evidence the New Zealander is able to change her entire sound while still retaining some of the things her fans love her dearly for.
With “Virgin”, Lorde falls more into herself as an artist. The album feels like a summation of everything she’s done thus far on her past 3 albums, while simultaneously handing fans a new, adventurous era.
In this case: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it— expand on it.
