Lorde has been releasing albums approximately every four years since her debut album, Pure Heroine (“Royals,” “Ribs,” and “Team”) in 2013. She’s known for her unique voice and diverse sound, ranging from electropop, dream pop, indie pop to indie-electro, and even for her influences of hip hop. Her last album, Solar Power (“Solar Power,” “Mood Ring” and “Stoned at the Nail Salon”), was released in 2021—and if Lorde sticks to her four-year pattern, we can expect a new album sometime in 2025.
In mid-April, Lorde released a teaser of a new song on TikTok in traditional Lorde fashion: no context, no flashy announcements, and no warning. The teaser is most reminiscent of her second album, Melodrama (“Supercut,” “Green Light,” and “Perfect Places”), with synth beats and the lyrics “Since I was 17, I gave you everything / Now we wake from a dream, well baby, what was that? / What was that?” The video has acquired almost 17 million views at the time I’m writing this, going instantly viral within 24 hours of posting.
For her new album, Lorde will be collaborating with producer Jim-E Stack. Stack has worked with other music stars including Dominic Fike, Bon Iver and Gracie Abrams. Rumors also note that Dev Hynes (otherwise known as Blood Orange) may be working with her on the album. Hynes is known for his alternative indie style with R&B and jazz influences. If the rumor is true, it may hint that Lorde is taking her new album in this direction, something we haven’t seen from her before, but also fits her ever evolving musical style.Â
Solar Power, Lorde’s most recent album released in 2021, faced negative criticism from her fan base. Many people found it too different from the music that had initially attracted them to her as an artist. Lorde initially broke into pop music as a teenager through her dark themes tackling adolescence and young adulthood, loneliness, teen angst, parties, breakups, and the various intense emotions teenagers experience. Solar Power was unique in its lightness, with more acoustic sounds and whimsical lyrics.Â
In a 2021 Vogue interview, Lorde revealed an unexpected reason for this: each of her albums were heavily influenced by the drug she was using while writing it. Pure Heroine is alcohol, Melodrama MDMA and Solar Power cannabis, helping to explain the differences in her album’s sounds. Additionally, Lorde told Vogue that Solar Power’s inspiration stemmed from her reconnection with nature following her decision in 2018 to entirely quit social media.Â
So, if Lorde continues following her artistic pattern, her new album will also likely have a unique, drug-influenced sound. The released clip is clearly reminiscent of Melodrama, quickly exciting Solar Power anti-fans with the potential of a return to Lorde’s musical roots. But beyond this, little is known about Lorde’s album. Lorde prefers to keep her presence on social media small, and her most recent tour concluded in August of 2023, almost two years ago. For many fans, the mystery is part of the intrigue, and a signature part of Lorde’s persona. However, a Stony Brook Press article from 2021 explains a potential reason for the let-down Solar Power caused and can serve as a lesson to Lorde fans to keep our expectations realistic. The article’s authors write “[Pure Heroine and Melodrama] saw great success immediately after their release and would continue to withstand the test of time. As fans relistened to her first two albums, there was a clear expectation her next release would fall within the same vein — dark aesthetics, gloomy introspective lyrics and complex production. But what came to life was completely different.” This expectation of Lorde to ‘stay in her lane’ or produce music similar to what she was at 16 (when “Royals” was released) is what caused listeners disappointment. Now, at 29 years old, over a decade has passed since she first began releasing music. I think it’s essential that, as a listening audience, we understand Lorde is an evolving, aging person with entirely different life experiences. We shouldn’t hold her to the standard of producing music that encapsulates the excitement of teenage experiences. While Pure Heroine and Melodrama are undeniably musical masterpieces, Lorde is almost 30, and her music should be able to reflect that. So, before raising hopes and expectations, consider that whether or not Lorde’s new album takes on familiar themes and sounds, it will be an authentic representation of her at this stage in her life. Regardless of if you relate to her music now or hold certain beliefs about what her music “should” be like, it is clear that Lorde is a talented artist and will produce something we can enjoy as uniquely its own.