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Celebrating the natural world: Lorde unleashes her ‘Solar Power’
Inspired by 60s-era California folk music and 2000s-era radio pop, Lorde makes her case for “Album of the Summer” while raising awareness for environmentalism and mental welfare
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fter almost four years of radio silence since her second studio album Melodrama, two-time Grammy winner and multiplatinum recording artist Lorde—real name Ella Yelich-O’Connor—has returned to the global pop landscape with her third outing Solar Power. In a virtual press conference on August 19, the 24-year-old singer-songwriter revealed that the early conception of her third studio album took place “in the first few months of 2019”—also, it has been her career philosophy to bide her time between records.
“The truth is, my album just takes me a long time because I’d like to have really undergone a personal transformation between albums so I have something really different to say. And that takes a while, obviously,” she chuckled.
Flower child
Described as “a celebration of the natural world”, Solar Power finds the New Zealand native exploring wispy, recherché subjects such as climate crisis, her connection to the planet, and the parallels between the modern era and “the 60s flower child movement”. To boot, the title of the album came about during her trip to Antarctica back in 2019. “[My trip to Antarctica] was amazing, [and] the name ‘Solar Power’ just popped into my head. I thought, ‘I think I’m gonna call it Solar Power’,” she added.
Solar Power, which dropped August 20 worldwide, marks a sonic switch for the artist. Instead of revisiting the minimalist electropop sound that initially catapulted her into the global pop landscape, she and her producer Jack Antonoff decided to opt for an indie-folk ambience with predominantly acoustic arrangements. “I wanted to kind of combine a bit of a 60s, 70s California kind-of folk sound with the music of my youth, which is, like, sort of early 2000s radio pop,” she elaborated. Sound-wise, she insisted the record feels “lighter and lighter, like you can just float away”.
Regarding her sonic switch, she explained, “I think of myself as a real shapeshifter. You know, I try and come back with a really different sound each time because I think that’s how you excite people and challenge them and kind of freak them out. I really want to be someone who, you know, can’t necessarily predict where [you’re] gonna go.”
Three singles were released before the album: the title track, the subdued folk ballad “Stoned at the Nail Salon”, and the psychedelic “Mood Ring”. The title track features backing vocals by American indie musicians Phoebe Bridgers and Clairo, with the production often being compared to George Michael’s “Freedom! ‘90”. The late singer’s estate has responded positively to the similarities between the two songs.
“For the song I wrote on my keyboard to have a real commonality with this other piece of music is crazy. But it’s so cool that [the George Michael’s estate] was cool with it and they understood. And I think that’s sort of the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll in a way,” she said.
“Mood Ring”, in particular, was inspired by her “attempt at unpacking wellness and all the little kind of systems that we all use to feel well and feel connected in our modern world.” Its music video, in which the bleached-blonde Lorde and her gal pals are pursuing tranquility by rubbing crystals and burning sages, doubles down on the song’s message. “I was thinking about the things that my girlfriends and I do. You know, little things, either it’s keeping a crystal around or lighting some sage or reading our horoscopes and I was just sort of trying to put them all together,” she continued.
Out of the 12 tracks in the standard issue of Solar Power, the six-minute “Oceanic Feeling” harbors deeper meaning due to its personal subject matter. “[In this song] I talk about my little brother and about my dad and what my kids would be like one day. It’s sort of a bit meandering journey of thinking about these different things,” she explained.
Another non-single track that holds special meaning to Lorde is “Secrets from a Girl (Who’s Seen It All)” which features a cameo by Swedish singer-songwriter Robyn. Lyrically, the folk bop finds the artist “kind of talking to my younger self […] sort of trying to impart some of the stuff that I have learned along the way.” She later dubbed the song “sad and beautiful and tender”.
While the album has no featured collaborators, there is one particular artist in Lorde’s mind that could potentially be her future music partner—English singer-songwriter Harry Styles. “I did mention Harry Styles in an interview recently. I liked his last album [Fine Line, released 2019]. I think he’s such a great sort-of pop star, you know. He’s so charming and cool, so I think we could do something cool together. But, we’ll see,” she remarked cheekily.
As the world starts opening up for live shows, Lorde has announced a world tour to promote Solar Power for 2022—so far, the tour covering Oceania, North America and Europe. Personally, she hopes the tour delivers as both a long-awaited spectacle and a much-needed balm for the soul post-COVID 19. “I think the shows will be a real release for people, so I got my fingers crossed,” she mused.
The soundtrack of her generation
Since the international success of her debut single “Royals” back in 2013, Lorde has often been heralded as one of the most influential voices of her generation. Her two previous studio albums—Pure Heroine (2013) and Melodrama (2017)—gained both acclaim and devoted fans, with most of them dubbing her albums as their “coming-of-age” soundtrack. Entering her next chapter, Lorde is aware of her generational status.
“It’s honestly, like, one of the craziest things that I never ever could have predicted. It’s so, like, gone beyond my wildest dreams, honestly. It’s such a cool feeling when kids come up to you and talk about, like, the journey they’ve been on with your music. Because a lot of my listeners were the same age as me when my first song came out.”
Three studio albums, two Grammy Awards, and two world tours later, Lorde has come a long way since her adolescent days in Auckland suburbia. This time around, she feels equipped with a sturdier, more empathetic view of the world she’s living in.
“I think I have become someone who sees the world a little bit more clearly. I had a very peninsula upbringing, you know […] sort of nice suburb and I didn’t know that much about the world—as I think it’s sort of common for most people. Just the nature of the journey my life has taken, I feel like I have seen so much and have a much greater understanding of lots of different things.”
On a lighter note, what’s the last album Lorde listened to?
“Well, I just listened to the Billie Eilish album [Happier Than Ever, released July 30], which I greatly enjoyed. I thought that was super cool,” she praised.
Lorde’s Solar Power is available for streaming.
