Just a few years ago as I began my college career, Lorde released her debut album Pure Heroine. I really didn’t know a whole lot about the New Zealand born singer at first. But as any devout music fan does, I decided to give the entire album a try - and I instantly fell in love with her music and the message behind the beat. I also developed a bit of a celebrity crush on her, but that's a story for another article.
Her first album acted as a kind of backdrop to my freshman year of college. The music was dark, dramatic, and there was a strong sense of not knowing your place in the world and feeling the weight of life itself weighing down on your shoulders. In short, it was a tad depressing. Melancholy, to be precise. But so was my first year of college. So I instantly made a connection over the sense that everyone gets inside of their own heads too much. Ever since I have been waiting for new music from the Lorde herself. Finally, we have Melodrama, and once again the dark queen of pop proves that she is one of the realest and wisest voices in music today.
The album opens with “Green Light”, a track that sounds drastically different than pretty much all of her previous work. It's an 80’s infused dance club smash that oozes with the naivety and carefree attitude of a 20 year old who’s only worried about sneaking a drink or two without getting caught. Ironically, the next track is titled “Sober”. It’s full of synth sounds and a reserved beat that Lorde pulls back as soon as the chorus hits. “These are the games of the weekend, we pretend like we don’t care, but we care." The second the morning hits we all fall back into rhythm, whether we like it or not. That ability to truly let go and disregard everything around us is something that continues to allude Lorde herself. But maybe that’s not a bad thing. It’s definitely a song that I can relate to, as well.
“Homemade Dynamite” is an anthem for all of us who tend to overthink things in life. Lorde realizes that she is the one who is behind most of her own problems. (Come to think of it, aren’t we all?) “Blowing sh*t up with homemade dynamite, our friends, our drinks, we get inspired”. Almost like she won’t let herself be happy or content or even coexist in a moment that is neither depressing or exorbitantly happy. Like she doesn’t know what she wants so she just keeps ruining things over and over until she has exhausted herself. Again, this is a highly relatable song. It also foreshadows the rest of the album. Next is “The Louvre”, which is arguably the best track. It is dense, spacey, dark, and witty. It screams youth and emphasizes the feeling when you first meet someone. Rushing into something head first and leaving everything else behind because, in that moment, you are convinced that you have found what you’ve been looking for all along. But just as any piece of art, time is the ultimate foe. Either it will live on forever, or it will crumble and fall as all others do. In the end heartbreak still finds its way into your life; A Metaphorical crack in the paints and oils and colors that came together to create a fleeting masterpiece.
“Liability” is the hangover that follows from the whirlwind first half of the album. Almost as if Lorde needs to collect herself, and in doing so she admits that she’s just “A toy that people enjoy ‘till all of the tricks don’t work anymore” and that she’s simply “A liability” and nothing more. She’s left the party and has found herself all alone, and in her silence she gets into her head once again. All we can do is watch her “disappear into the sun”. The next two tracks, “Hard Feelings/Loveless” and “Sober II (Melodrama)” both feed into the themes of self-destructive behavior and the obsession today’s youth has with it. Admittedly, as a 22 year old I have also fallen victim to this state of mind. This is the moment of the album where Lorde fully realizes her potential. But she admits that she’s just like everyone else, just another part of this “L-O-V-E-L-E-S-S generation”.
“Writer In The Dark” is a heavy track that is one of her most personal yet. It’s a dense song to interpret and understand, but she sings about her mother, depression, and her own view of her place in the world. “In my darkest hours I stumble on a secret power”, she sings, perhaps finding some sort of inner-peace within herself. “Supercut” is reminiscent of “Green Light”, and you can hear what sounds like a sample of herself in the background beat. Like she’s had enough of her depressing Melodrama and is forcing herself to get outside and fall back in love for the night, even is she knows deep down it's not the right thing to do. But maybe it's the thing to do right now.
“Liability (Reprise)” is a haze of dark, spacious beats, and Lorde harmonizing with herself in a haunting arrangement of vocals. It's a quick track, but it packs an emotional punch, once again admitting that she is just “A liability” no matter what she does. Her mind just can’t escape that loop of thinking. However, on the album's final track, “Perfect Places”, Lorde fully embraces the dark undertones of the album. “Every night I live and die, meet somebody, take them home”. But even though she finds solace in the heat of the moment, she admits that this is “Just another graceless night” as she continues to hunt for her place in the world. But even though she is looking for purpose in all the wrong locations, she still ends the song by asking “What the f*** are perfect places anyway?”
After listening to this record, you would never know that this is only her second album. Lorde breathes new life into the pop music genre by instilling a vast sense of maturity into each of the 11 songs. She proves that she has a genuine grasp on the world, and what it means to be a 20 year old in 2017. She is wise beyond her years, yet this album is still incredibly easy to listen to, no moments where you have to focus and think, “Is this a ‘smart’ song?” This album is relatable and relevant, while not conforming to generic pop music sounds. This is a true work of art, no matter how many cracks there are in the painting or how shattered the glass may be. Praise be to the Lorde.
