If you haven’t been hiding under a rock you’ll already know that Lorde generated a humungous wave of buzz last week by sharing the artwork of her latest single “Solar Power“. Nothing was as we expected, she totally won the internet and started off a new meme craze by sharing a photo of her peachy ass. Lorde doesn’t use social media, she speaks via newsletters sent via her mailing list. The image was updated to her website and instead, it was collaborator Jack Antonoff who began sharing the cheeky artwork on his social media platforms.
The track “Solar Power” arrived on the internet, approaching midnight hour UK time, on Thursday. I managed to get a sneaky look at the music video before climbing into my bed. The effects of listening to/watching it for the first time were such that the track must have soothed me to sleep. As the next thing, I remember was waking up on Friday morning with the sun streaming into my room. Similarly, I was filled with the sense that it was going to be a good day. Did Lorde have a hand in on this?…
Well, the track is blissfully dreamy and evokes distinctive summer feelings. The track has a very pared-back, organic sound and a jaunty, jangle melody not unlike “Freedom! ’90” the George Michael track. Another striking similarity that occurred to me when watching the Joel Kefali and Ella Yelich-O’Connor (AKA Lorde) directed, video, the aesthetic is somewhat Marina like. In that, I can quite imagine this video being made by Marina as a companion piece to the recent single “Man’s World“. Both tracks harness the same empowered, simple but organic vibe. Continuing with carving out her own space, Lorde shines like a bohemian sun queen as she dances among the waves and sunkissed sun rays.
I have not been so invested in everything she does, as some are, but “Solar Power” is soothing and nice while being quite different. I am reawakened, I am listening to Lorde again and am interested moreover to see what else she has in store for the “Solar Power” era. I’m guessing the near-naked publicity stunt was a one-off. I’m not expecting any more nakedness. If the music continues in this vein I’ll be happy to pipe it into my ears.
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