Solar Power - Lorde
Solar Power album cover. Image sourced from Genius Lyrics
Ella Yelich O’Connor, more commonly known as Lorde, just released her third studio album, Solar Power, on August 20, 2021. Lorde has a uniquely sporadic songwriting/album releasing process; after releasing her first chart-topping album Pure Heroine at the tender age of 16 and completing an international arena tour, she retreated from public life for nearly 4 years before the release of her next album, Melodrama, in June 2017. She adeptly stepped back into the pop-stardom spotlight for a few months to promote Melodrama before returning to her home in New Zealand for another three years, which brings us to the present. The dreamy, spiritual songs on Solar Power break away from the teen-angst emo pop anthems on Melodrama and Pure Heroine, and establish Ella as a purely individual creator, unfazed by public opinion and making only the music she wants to make, when she wants to make it.
The album is bookended with songs written entirely by Lorde, the first of which is The Path. My favorite parts were the smooth 3 and 4-part harmonies and synth-y guitar lines that sounded like they were recorded underwater. The lyrics feel like a diary entry; she “hope[s] this song will show us the path” seemingly of her life. The Path introduces Solar Power’s major theme of self-reflection, most notably explored further in Secrets from A Girl (Who’s Seen It All).
The title track follows; an upbeat lead single that provides a sunny escape from the darkness COVID-19 has set on the world recently. Some critics claim this song to be insensitive, that leading with a summery, upbeat song in the midst of a pandemic feels detached; a product of her privilege to be able to retreat to a Covid-free New Zealand paradise while the rest of the world doesn’t have that luxury. I enjoyed the escape, though. It’s not any artist’s responsibility to make music that caters to their listeners. The best art is a reflection of oneself, and I’m happy that Lorde was able to have that escape. After all, we’ll be having many an artist writing songs about isolation and sickness and death over the next several years.
Track 3, California, bears similarity to Joni Mitchell’s song of the same name. Both artists, having escaped their fame for a brief time (living in New Zealand and France, respectively), find themselves missing the spotlight. The vocal harmonies during the final chorus are magnificent.
The triad of Stoned at the Nail Salon, Fallen Fruit, and Secrets from a Girl (Who’s Seen it All) occupy the fourth, fifth, and sixth spots on the album. Stoned at the Nail Salon is a moving reflection on Lorde’s unique lifestyle. While not touring or promoting her albums, her life is perfectly ordinary. She spends her days “liv[ing] as Ella among the greenery and waterfront splendor where she was raised,” (and, apparently, getting lots of manicures) according to a New York Times article published shortly after Solar Power’s release. She sings soulfully, painting such beautiful scenes of her domestic life that it’s hard to believe she resides at the top echelon of pop stardom. Fallen Fruit is our call to action. As a New Zealander, Lorde is deeply connected to the natural world and passionate about climate change and global warming. She implores: “But how can I love what I am gonna lose?” She imagines a future where we can “walk together with psychedelic garlands in our hair,” but fears that human negligence will soon destroy the natural beauty from which she derives so much of her inspiration. From a musical standpoint, she conveys these themes well; the melodic lines are stirring, and the chord progressions make the song feel dramatic, important, and serious.
Secrets from a Girl (Who’s Seen it All) is my most played song off of Solar Power so far. It’s musically upbeat and the lyrics are heartwarming, but neither of these aspects come off as sappy or forced. I admire how much she’s grown since she was abruptly thrust into the public eye at the age of 16 when her song Royals topped the Billboard Hot 100 Chart and her album Pure Heroine sold millions of copies across the world, achieving platinum status in multiple countries. She writes: “Everybody wants the best for you/But you gotta want it for yourself,” which I think is a profoundly wise line to be snuck inside a pop song. Contrasting that with the dark, turbulent themes that Royals, then Pure Heroine introduced and Melodrama expanded on, I very much appreciated her ability to reflect on her past so eloquently.
The latter half of the album didn’t hit as hard for me. The songs are more subdued and often blend together in my mind. The melodies are simpler and less captivating than earlier songs, and I often find myself skipping Dominoes, Leader of a New Regime, and Oceanic Feeling if I’m not listening to the album in the background. One exception is Mood Ring, though. Something about the vocal harmonies and vibe of the song is so addicting. The song opens with a few bars of smooth background vocals in 3-part harmony, then switches to rhythmic guitar under a lilting melody. This is the most spiritual song on the album, not only because she’s singing about “burning sage and cleansing crystals” but also because the stacked harmonies always make me feel like I’m in another world.
I almost wish that Mood Ring hadn’t been released as a single–the song lost some of its impact because it was overshadowed by the album’s release only 2 days later.
As a Lorde fan, Solar Power’s release was a big deal. When Melodrama was released, I was a freshman in high school, and now I’m a freshman in college. Despite our collective impatience, the beauty in these long stretches between albums means that we all were able to grow up with them. I associated each album with an era of my life, which allowed me to make deeper connections to the music. If Pure Heroine, Melodrama, and Solar Power had been released in quicker succession, I am almost certain that they wouldn’t have had the same impact. Whenever I listen to Pure Heroine, I think back to my moody, emo middle school self blasting White Teeth Teens in my earbuds on the school bus. Melodrama was the album of my sophomore year of high school; I listened to it while on the subway and on picnics in the park with my friends. Solar Power will always be an album of new beginnings, because it was the album I listened to while driving to Swarthmore on move-in day.
I tried to not let my superfan-fueled desperation for new content cloud my judgement, but I did genuinely love this album.
Here is my current song ranking (it changes all the time)
Fallen Fruit
Secrets from a Girl (Who’s Seen it All)
Stoned at the Nail Salon
Mood Ring
California
Solar Power
The Path
The Man with the Axe
Oceanic Feeling
Big Star
Leader of a New Regime
Dominoes