In 2013, a 16 year old singer from New Zealand named Lorde took center stage in pop music with her brilliant debut, Pure Heroine. The album, full of confidence and intelligence, was what pop needed at the time. It was a different perspective, thought provoking, and filled to the brim with minimalistic electronics and beats.
With how the music industry is and how fans consume music, we expect the follow-up for albums to be instantaneous. Lorde took her time, almost four years to find inspiration for her sophomore outing. She is back with her first single, “Green Light,” off of her forthcoming album, Melodrama due this summer via Republic Records.
“Green Light” is the first chapter in a story as told by the singer herself on Twitter. Beginning with simple piano, There’s a danceable rhythm that holds itself throughout the song that’s almost in a show tunes-like manner. Within her interview with Zane Lowe on Beats 1 radio, Lorde states:
“The song is actually about a heartbreak. And it’s not something that I really am used to writing about. It took me a while to be able to figure out how to write about that. It was my first major heartbreak.”
Listening to her music, Lorde writes lyrics in a very approachable and conversational manner. “Green Light” is no different. “I know about what you did and I wanna scream the truth/She thinks you love the beach, you’re such a damn liar,” appears within the first verse and it sounds like you are right there for the argument.
A higher tempo song at that, “Green Light” combines new lyrical territory for Lorde and a new tweak on her music. It will be interesting to see where the second chapter will lead us to she where she’s been and what she has experienced throughout this break.
Photo Credit: Brendan Walter
