With the release of her third studio album, Solar Power, Lorde has scored a hat trick in maintaining her status as one of the most interesting indie-pop artists working today. Reuniting with prolific producer Jack Antonoff (Folklore, Daddy’s Home, Chemtrails Over the Country Club), this album serves as a melancholic ode to adolescence, a feature not foreign to the rest of Lorde’s limited discography.
Starting out with a new track in the form of ‘The Path’, it sets the tone for the rest of the album, with an air of desperation, wherein Lorde bemoans the direction of her fame so far. Shot to popularity by her single ‘Royals’ in 2013, Lorde has been stuck in the center of the limelight since she was just sixteen. Her reckoning with her own stardom is the overarching theme of this album; it crops up in ‘The Path’, ‘California’, ‘Fallen Fruit’, ‘Secrets From A Girl (Who’s Seen It All)’, ‘The Man With The Axe’, ‘Big Star’, and ‘Oceanic Feeling’. It’s small wonder that, having been in the public eye for almost a decade, she would at this point have thoughts on the topic worthy of airing on an album.
The titular track, ‘Solar Power’, stands thematically unique compared to the rest of the album. Whereas every other song on the album, including those not listed above, focus on retrospection, regret, and a sort of nostalgic longing, ‘Solar Power’ deals with exactly none of this. It’s no surprise that this was the song chosen to be released ahead of the album, both due to the titles, and that this is the most marketable single on the album. It’s upbeat, summery, and poppy —- starkly contrasted by the somber tone of the rest of the release. Its massive shift away from the tone of Melodrama generated a lot of buzz, encouraged even further by the four year hiatus following her last release.
However, the major point of contention amongst fans and critics on this album lies within the lack of both thematic and melodic variety. The sound of this album is entirely uniform, a stark difference to Lorde’s second album – whereas Melodrama serves as a reverie upon regret, and all the different forms that can take, Solar Power stands as a very melodically uniform look back upon a career so far. This could be why we’re seeing criticism so split down the middle when discussing it: if you like how the first couple of songs sound, great! If you don’t, then there isn’t really anything for you in the rest of the album. It is clear that a ludicrous amount of talent has gone into both the creative process and production of this release — a fact not overlooked by even the most derisive of its critics — but ultimately, the total consistency cannot be ignored.
Solar Power is a difficult album to categorise in the form of a review. All music is subjective, but this release is so divisive due entirely to the nature of its composition. Those who love Lorde’s new sound will of course be massively praiseworthy about the album, but those who long for a return to the likes of Melodrama may be left disappointed. Overall, it stands as an exceptionally impressive example of both the musical talent of Lorde, and her capabilities as a songwriter as well. If you’ve yet to hear it for yourself, it is a must-listen.
