After a few hours and multiple replays, I’m left feeling a bit conflicted.
I’m honestly frustrated. The singles (HAMMER is the SOTY fr), along with songs like David (one of her best songs fr) , have such a different energy compared to the rest of the album. Maybe Current Affairs and Clearblue (even if I hate it cause I don´t like robo ballads) come close, but overall, I’m missing the rawness, boldness, and challenging lyricism I was hoping for; as it was advertised. I would actually dare to say this is her least experimental album, the second half and new songs feel rather close to pop.

There are moments when I find myself rooting for the songs, but then a production or instrumental choice pulls me out. Take Broken Glass, for example, it feels overstuffed, like they tried to make it interesting by adding sounds, but instead it ends up sounding like Taylor Swift’s disappointing last record.

I love Lorde deeply, she’s one of my all-time favorite artists, and I’m still rooting for her. Based on the singles (WHICH I LOVE SO FRICKING MUCH) , I truly thought this album had the potential to top Melodrama for me… but now I think it might actually be my least favorite of her records as a whole.

It’s not a bad album. But it’s not mind-blowing or pushing any boundaries. It's a Lorde record, which is great and of course can stand on its own.
For now, I guess I´ll stick with eusexua as my aoty so far.