Solar Power (studio album) by Lorde

I heard this album before any of her others. (I had been living on the moon for several years.) So I came to it without expectations and I've always loved it. It is a great summer album, full of sunshine and energy, except when it is not (Stoned at the Nail Salon), and even that is a wonderful mood piece.

From cestuneblague 11/12/2022 04:33

In hindsight I was a bit too harsh on this album, but it still hasn't grown on me at all. I have no problem with Lorde making a more tranquil album basking in the open sun, perhaps a sign she's finally come of age from the personal growing pains of her previous releases. Unfortunately I also never get the sense there was a real drive to get the most out of these songs, as they often feel lazy rather than languid. Whenever it does seem to go for some... satirical? bite, the targets are at best soft (especially the Word of Lorde enviornmental themes or self-wellness cults, a real zinger of a takedown maybe back in '98) and at worst like she's clawing at a dead horse. Given there were still quite high expectations after what she delivered before that were tougher to meet considering she's likely in a much different place now, but I just never get the sense that even she felt much of this was essential to record and release to the public. These come across like rambling campfire songs that most forget by the next-day hangover. The last track is a nice bit of ambient pop that hints at a more surreal next stage to come, but nothing else here feels like Lorde even at her midrange best.

"Solar Power" is a meandering beach wallow. It reflects feelings in slothish manner to vaguely psychedelic indie guitars. At first its plain ,but as the album moves forward nothing advances. The sound becomes flatter with each following track. The vocals are often paired with unflattering effects and misplaced backing vocals. Lorde's voice feels disconnected and a little bit over sung. The lyrics are passable with the exception on the awkward Hip hop borrowings on "Solar Power" and "California" and the blockhead Robyn outro on "Secrets From A Girl (Who’s Seen It All)". The major positive of the album is its conceptual tightness. Every song feels connected to theme of reflection and warm weather. After this time in the sun, perhaps Lorde should return to the shade.

From katerpillar 12/02/2021 03:49

Seems like she used a lot of drugs and got out of her way to make this album, I have no source for what I think but this album is fucking weird.

From mdbaxter 09/28/2021 15:36

Really easy to listen to. Sounds like it was composed in the midst of an acid comedown. Very cohesive and pleasant. Wish she went further with the minimalism or tried to do more weird stuff. Lyrical content is a bit lacking I think but it's still a good release.

I still think that this record is great! Excellent songs, great melodies, chill atmosphere, simple and straightforward. I am pretty sure it will become a classic at some point.

I love this album. It has impressed me more than any other record in a while. Have only listened to it a bunch of times but I already think this will be an instant classic.

I’m way more torn on this album than I expected to be after the singles. All three singles (particularly the first two- Solar Power and Stoned at the Nail Salon) felt very underwhelming especially since we know how much Lorde is capable of. My thoughts really started shifting right before the albums release with repeated listens to Mood Ring. I sort of felt like I was finally cracking into what Lorde’s intention were here. With the album release I still felt a little underwhelmed although much less so than I was with the singles. It’s so obvious that she’s delivering a Kate Bush-esque middle finger to pretty much everyone and making music that she just feels like making right now. The theme is what really started to draw me in as I continued listening, it’s such an interesting perspective of fame and self indulged culture that draws back to the culty self wellness that plagues a lot of Hollywood personas and modern social media influencers. It somehow manages to critique this culture but also take her own place into it without feeling hypocritical. It deep dives into what the driving forces are to this niche society through her own experiences in this sphere of society. This truly is an album about self indulgence and selfishness for the sake of ones self. But even as the theme is so impeccably well done the album is so boring at face value. I understand trying to parody this crisp cleanliness of celebrity- displaying sunshine and happiness on the outside to protect the turbulent inside but it just makes for a disappointing listen. I’m so torn here because every decision made here makes perfect sense but still doesn’t add up to greatness. There are still some stand out tracks- California, Secrets From a Girl and to a lesser extent Mood Ring, Dominoes, and Fallen Fruit. I’m not even sure what to rate this at this point. Even if it’s not amazing it’s one of the most interesting and thought provoking releases so far this year

From cestuneblague 08/27/2021 01:21

Maybe this was a very important album for Lorde personally. Maybe this is her soft, hippy-dippy Metal Machine Music. Maybe she clearly has something more direct or creative to say but just decided to snugly keep it in her pocket and just half-wink at the audience for 43 minutes, and maybe will drop a really musical bomb when we least expect it in the future. Nothing makes this strangely arid and hook-less album enjoyable either way.

I definitely was a bit confused as well as worried by "Solar Power", despite the obviously brilliant "Prettier Jesus" line, mainly not only in how it felt kind of milquetoast and like it was needlessly restraining itself so it could fit into the three-minute mark... but how awfully smug the lyrics felt coming from someone like Lorde. I mean it's nice to feel she might be in a bit of a serene and more balanced state after the major widescreen airings of the biggest adolescent growing pains that certainly made her previous albums so memorable, and it's certainly not like she hasn't had a solid selection of Smarter-Than-Your-Average-Bear lines that colored both PH and Melodrama.

But Lorde has definitely been to know throw red herrings, so I was optimistic that it was just an experimental appetizer in a more varied main course. Yeahhhhh. Well... -memorable- is a key word her cause so little of the sounds or statements (if you can call them that) leave any sort of lasting impression. It's got the same problem of other recent Antonoff productions in that every element of both sound and Lorde's performance feels glued together and whatever blob remains is just sort of poked around rather than everything given it's space to breath, rise and ultimately coelsce together. This doesn't even work as amorphous background music because the preogressions just feel so... labored. But dear gawd at times those lyrics and their diabetic vagueness is what really actually makes this borderline unlistenable at times- which I guess when it does get a bit cringy that's certainly better than dry, suffocating boredom.

Now going through this three times nothing really has become clearer Lorde's intent, nor has many moments really stood out as a grabber either- I mean I guess the end of Oceanic Feeling is somewhat ear-raising (and feels like she does already have plans of what's going to happen next) but I think we needed something more than 40 seconds to hang on to, and I guess Fallen Fruit definitely has a few interesting ideas till (dear Hey-sus 'effin Krist) it almost descends into "Don't Worry, Be Happy" territory-. Strangely Solar Power definitely reminds me of Miss Anthropecene, both with the... hints... of enviormentalist themes and the very turn-of-the-millenium musical influences, though this switches out the electro-nu-metal for folk-y electronica, keeping the stoned-out trip hop-lite vibes. But hey I remember thinking that album was a bit too coy and unfinished, at least that did have a solid selection of engaging tunes. Both works though are notable for their almost complete lack of hunger or drive to really make either a fully clear or rhetorical statement, and just seem to moderately enjoy existing it's own company till eventually tiring themselves out rather early.

I donno, sitting through this is akin to watching sand fall an hourglass and becoming more and more hopeful that the mid-tube finally shatters, the first listen obviously hoping for a shakeup that never remotely comes, subsequent listens hoping for the songs to reveal more about themselves. Instead this feels like she threw some sand in the oven with zucchini and dry carrots and was hoping a deluxe layer cake would come out. Even a desert needs a cactus.

Donno, I guess this collection of Nivea-commercial sweet nothings was a necessary meditation to eventually toss aside for whatever more creative thing she does next. Expect Lorde- Ozone Layer to wow everybody come Dec. 2021.

Didnt understand all the hate on this one. I really like the new upbeat guitar-leaded melodies, although a lot of songs here seems unfinished (Dominoes, Big Star, Leader of a New Regime), i dont know, there are some kinda confusing production choices, but it still is an intriguing and engaging album.

Great tracks: The Path, Solar Power, Mood Ring, Oceanic Feeling.