(A guilty pleasure of mine)
This album starts off with “Green Light”, which for the most part I still am not entirely invested in. There are some sort of cheesy lyrics here and there, but that’s not even the main problem. There are too many elements to me that come off as a little obnoxious sadly, especially when it comes to those bizarre backing vocals. I really have no I tea what the was going for, but I seriously don’t get it. Thankfully, lyrically this one is such a HUGE step up for Lorde. She’s gone very personal in a big way. To be honest, it’s exactly the sound that I was hoping to here her hop on. I really wish that instrumentally I was more into this one, I just feel like of all the great singles on here this is by far the weakest. Lyrically though, “Green Light” certainly remains compelling and important to the album. “Sober” is up next, and right off the bat let’s talk about this production. This is absolutely a gigantic step up for Lorde. While the production on her first album was certainly decent and fit her sound and all, I feel like this is just so much more expansive and creative. It gives Lorde’s music so much more dynamic, and overall “Sober” is a seriously sharp pop tune. The lyrics are thought provoking and so much more more thought out than any of the music on her debut. Then we have the instrumentals, which between the sort of hazy and tropical club beat and the horns that pop in at the chorus, this is pretty freakin’ fantastic. “Sober” is the moody pop track that I’ve wanted to hear all year. Then we have “Homemade Dynamite”, and I still can’t seem to get over just how absolutely huge this album sounds compared to Lorde’s debut. “Homemade Dynamite” is just so much more aggressive as far as the beat goes and even Lorde’s performance. I like some of the track’s early comparisons to pilots flying into unknown territory, showing that even her songwriting has come a huge way. Lorde on this on is coming out of her shell, and there are plenty of great “getting to know you” moments as well. And it’s all backed up by this pretty explosive beat that quite frankly I didn’t expect to hear. It’s also got tons of airy, sort of Baroque Pop elements for anyone desperate to hear more of the sound of her debut. So hell yea, I can certainly groove to “Homemade Dynamite”. Up next is “The Louvre”, which has a little more rock influence throughout which is nice. I seriously love Lorde’s vocals on this one, and as far as one liners go, this one has some of the album’s most memorable ones. But sadly I’m not really as into this ones instrumental. Outside of the guitars in the intro, there really isn’t as much as far as an instrumental goes, especially during the chorus. However, I certainly get caught up in Lorde’s performance and lyrics on this one. There’s also some really great buildup during the verses, but it’s just kind of flat when we get to the chorus. However, I do certainly enjoy the distant guitar licks on this one as well, so there’s still plenty to like here.
“Liability” more or less is the song that made me want to review this album. As far as a ballad goes, this is the track that I feel like I didn’t know Lorde had in her. Her performance here is ridiculous to be honest. It’s heartfelt, and one of the more powerful Pop performances I’ve heard all year. It’s heartbreaking really, hearing Lorde break out into lines about how she’s been used like a “toy that people enjoy ’til all the tricks don’t work anymore. It might be short, but “Liability” is a stunning ballad, one that’ll seriously bring a tear to your eye. “Hard Feelings/Loveless” takes it’s time so much more with getting going, and I’m certainly down for that. Some of that seriously experimental and oddball production is back on this one, something that I really think Lorde is on to. I love the sweeping chorus here as well as some of the backing vocals. “Hard Feelings/Loveless” is a seriously well done track about going out of love with someone. It’s tracks like this that really blow me away, the way Lorde really took everything she did on her debut, amped up the production and solidified her song writing, and made something truly memorable. While this album isn’t necessarily perfect, so far it’s been one of the stronger album’s about just about every aspect of love that I’ve heard in recent memory. Then we have the second half of this track that turns into a dark, heavy hitting Pop banger that sounds like it was produced by Arca or someone else left of the dial. “Hard Feelings/Loveless” is absolutely ridiculous, Lorde just sounds so empowering and strong in the later moments. “Sober II (Melodrama)” is up next and right off the bat the strings are a very nice touch. This one comes off as another really solid ballad, and ends up accompanying “Sober” ridiculously well. I feel like this, in every way, is more or less the answer to all the questions brought up on “Sober”. Not so shockingly, it comes out very well thought out. The murky beats and passionate performance from Lorde add tons as well, making for some of the most stunning moments here. So I’m not really sure what the hell Lorde has been through the last few years, but this album continues to be seriously heartbreaking with “Writer In The Dark”. That first line here about her love interest leaving her “to be a good man for someone else” is just so powerful. And as “Writer In The Dark” continues on, it’s just one truly heart wrenching line after another. My only real issue with this one is that I feel like instrumentally this one could have been stepped up a bit. But as far as Lorde’s performance and the lyrics go, this is truly grade A stuff here.
Lorde has saved some of her most passionate sounds for last. “Supercut” is one of the more artsy tracks here, but I absolutely love it to be honest. I love the booming beat and the big sounding verses, it gives “Supercut” such an epic sound. It almost bizarrely enough has a progressive feeling in the way there’s all of these movements, almost to the point where it gets a little overwhelming. There’s just so much going on here, between this hook that’s absolutely to die for, and this gigantic atmosphere that Lorde sounds wonderful in. Now, it’s not too shocking to me that Jack Antonoff had such a huge presence on this album, especially this one which has a HUGE Fun. and Bleachers feel to it. I wish I had to say just as many nice things about the “Liability (Reprise)”. When the earlier reprise came off so nicely, I got my hopes up for this. But I feel like this comes off so much less effective than “Liability”. The vocal effects are really not necessary at all. It ends up taking away from Lorde’s performance, which was just so passionate and mesmerizing on “Liability”. Compared to “Liability”, I feel absolutely nothing listening to its reprise. Thankfully, Lorde does give us a decent finale to end on. “Prefect Places” is more or less exactly what I wanted to hear from her. I love the groove here, and I love Lorde’s performance and how much more at peace she comes off. This track might not be all sunshine and happiness overall, but it’s still showing Lorde more at peace. The hook here is gigantic, it’s positive, it’s youthful, and overall it just a great sound for her.
Rating: 7.9/10
Give A Listen To: “Sober”, “Supercut, “Hard Feelings/Loveless” , “Liability”
Overall Thoughts: Overall this is an absolutely gigantic leap as far as an album goes for Lorde. Everything that was sort of just "OK" about her debut is pretty darn wowing here. The production is much heavier, instrumentally this is more diverse, and Lorde's performances are stunning. There are a few lackluster tracks, and I still do NOT care for "Green Light" at all, but this is a pretty solid Pop album overall ladies and gentlemen.
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