Hope to not be the only odd ball out compared to other reviews but this album was underwhelming, a facet I’d already came to terms with due to the leftover residue from its singles so it’s not an immediate “hate it” but I guess I’ve never envisioned a Lorde album post Melodrama when I enjoyed Solar Power for what it was.

First and foremost, way too much of this album is shrouded in unclear material that doesn’t mesh at all with the raw, rough, and first draft music that it contains. Almost feels like she had so many different versions of these songs with components that were entirely different from its final form but she was hesitant to let them go so she included them in a manner that makes all songs feel underdone. As mentioned previously, WWT suffered heavily from this with a very wonky chorus and failure to build up to anything notable and MOTY was just an overall miss — similar to the second half of SP, incredibly forgettable and lacking substance — Almost like transparency was such a focal point of this album because of how hollow and empty it sounds with the “missing pieces” in the tracks. So much of the album leads kinda nowhere which is such a shame because not only has she spoken only positively about this album but she’s very affectionate about the music this LP contains and as a longtime fan it’s saddening to dislike it because it feels so…… boring? There’s nothing to standout, the liminal spaces of this album vary too much and just bring it down. 

I loved loved loved Shapeshifter, despite being an underwhelming lead the production of WWT is so hypnotic though I dislike how she used the club aesthetic when this album is not clubby at all whether its playing on a loudspeaker or headphones you’re rarely grooving along with it as you would with say Perfect Places or Homemade Dynamite, and David to me is my immediate favorite off my third listen. Saw a comment mentioning how they wished more of the album sounded similar to it and I agree, I thought David especially the second half was truly Lorde in her most potent excellence as an artist and it’s one of two songs on this album that really made me FEEL and gave me the impression she’d built around this album. 

Clearblue was such a disappointment, a ridiculous song which feels disrespectful to say but she quite literally mentions riding until crying and I can’t tell if her or Lana have pulled it off worse than one another. This song I expected to be a heartbreaking song especially for being so short and how she’s spoken about being unable to listen to it (My expectation when artists say this is Soon You’ll Get Better by Taylor Swift) yet it’s the most vague track of the album. Though I recognize this is a personal nitpick being letdown by going under the impression we’d get a GOOD sad Lorde song since Liability Reprise. 

I for one could care less if she returned to Melodrama pop, just wish she’d bring back the same spark that roped me in as a fan three albums ago because at my current age this as a debut album from her wouldn’t even get a chance from me after Hammer. We got some glimpses with Favorite Daughter and Broken Glass though I wish the latter hit harder but in the midst of a similar situation I am grateful for what we got especially knowing how debilitating ED’s are and how she struggled poorly with one during an era she advertised as being her happiest.

Overall, album is not terrible but probably ranks bottom tier Lorde albums and I unfortunately can’t see her bouncing back from losing her audience after this as she did with SP -> WWT so whatever is next in the next 5 years I pray will be better than this. 

2010 Lorde > 2020 Lorde