Solar Power (album)
Solar Power is the third studio album by New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde. It was released on 20 August 2021, by Universal Music. Lorde wrote and produced the album with American musician Jack Antonoff, whom she also worked with on her second studio album, "Melodrama" (2017). The album was preceded by "Going South", a June 2021 memoir documenting Lorde's 2019 visit to Antarctica, which she dubbed as the precursor to the album. She stated the title "Solar Power" was inspired by the trip, and that she "felt like [she] could just chill out and flex a  little bit" while creating the record. Three singles were released before the album: the lead single and title track, "Solar Power", was released on a solar eclipse and entered the charts in various countries, reaching number two on the New Zealand Singles Chart. It was followed by "Stoned at the Nail Salon" and "Mood Ring", leading up to the album's release. Classified by Lorde as her "weed album", "Solar Power" is a psychedelic pop and indie folk effort driven by acoustic guitar arrangements, marking a departure from the synth-heavy, dance-oriented music of her previous works. The album 's lyrics revolve around solipsism and summer escapism, mainly focusing on Lorde's leisure time in her homeland New Zealand, simultaneously expressing her disdain for fame and celebrity culture. The album polarised music critics, who admired Lorde's matured vocals, but were divided over its songwriting; some reviewers praised the laid-back music and perceptive themes, while the rest considered its sound unfinished and lyrics dispassionate. Commercially, "Solar Power" reached number one in Australia and New Zealand, and charted inside the top-10 in Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Scotland, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the  United States. It additionally topped the U.S. "Billboard" Alternative Albums chart. Lorde opted against releasing CDs for environmental reasons, releasing "Solar Power" to digital music platforms, streaming services, and as vinyl LPs only. A Māori-language EP, titled "Te Ao Mārama", was released on 9 September 2021 as a companion project to "Solar Power". It consists of the Māori versions of five tracks from the album. Lorde began her third concert tour, the Solar Power Tour, with a performance in Nashville, Tennessee on 3 April 2022 – her first concert performance since November 2018. The Solar Power Tour will cover North  America, Europe, and Oceania. Background and recording. On 16 June 2017, Lorde released her second studio album, "Melodrama", to universal critical acclaim. It topped several year-end best albums lists by music critics, but trailed commercially compared to her debut studio album, "Pure Heroine". It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards. In November 2018, Lorde revealed to fans in a newsletter that she had been learning the piano and expected her third album to be "born out of" the instrument; however, she also divulged that despite this she had n't "started properly on the next record yet" and was unsure as to when it would be completed. On the second anniversary of "Melodrama"s release, Lorde confirmed to fans on Instagram that the album was "in the oven," and she also revealed that she had taken up bread baking and adopted a dog and a cat. The singer made her first public performance following the conclusion of her Melodrama World Tour in April 2019 at a benefit concert for victims of the Christchurch mosque shootings, which had occurred the previous month. Later that year, Lorde disclosed that the album release  would be postponed indefinitely following the death of her dog Pearl, who had been suffering from various illnesses; she explained that the dog had been an important part of the creative process of the record and that "it's going to take some time and re-calibration, now that there's no shepherd ahead of [her], to see what the work is going to be." She added that the album would not "be the same work" due to the impact of Pearl's death, writing: "When this great loss crystallises inside me, and my chest rebuilds around it, hopefully I 'll be able to finish up, and share it with you, and we'll all grow together, as we always do." In an interview with Triple J in March 2020, Lorde revealed that she had been working on "bits and pieces" that were "starting to take a very exciting shape," but added that she still had "no idea when things will happen." When asked whether she had been working on new material in separate interview the following month, she replied that "it's been a very productive year." That May, the singer wrote in a newsletter that she had returned  to the studio in the previous December and recorded music with Jack Antonoff, whom she collaborated with on "Melodrama". She added that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the two were working remotely. Malay also disclosed that he had been heavily involved in the creation of her third album. In an August 2021 interview for "The New York Times", Lorde stated: "I haven't made a Jack Antonoff record, I've made a Lorde record and he's helped me make it and very much deferred to me on production and arrangement". She also said she used only a single 808  drum machine in the entire album, and that "there's definitely not a smash [...] because I don't even know really what the smashes are now", commenting on the commercial prospects of "Solar Power", in which she "felt like I could just chill out and flex a little bit." She described the album's opening track, "The Path", as "a sort of thesis statement for the album". Cover artwork. In an interview with Stephen Colbert, Lorde revealed that the album cover was photographed by her friend Ophelia on the beach while she jumped over them. Colbert could not show the  cover on TV, with Lorde saying that it is "a little hardcore, but it was so joyful to me" and "a little bit feral". In some markets, including mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, Lorde's buttocks are censored by a bright sunlight lens flare. Music and lyrics. Critics described "Solar Power" as an indie folk, folk-pop, and psychedelic record, specifically the psychedelic folk and psychedelic pop styles. It emphasises guitars, usually acoustic, complemented by soft rock and electronic elements. Eschewing the prominent 808s, dance, and synth-focused sounds of Lorde's past  works, "Solar Power" opts for a more "organic", "earthier", unplugged sound, with stripped-down arrangements, unpredictable chord progressions, sparse percussions, and minimal drums. The album's subject matter expresses escapism, retrospection, introspection, and solipsism, discussing topics like social life, celebrity culture, grief, climate crisis, and reconnection with nature. Songs. The album's first track, "The Path", features "dark and moody flute melodies" beneath Lorde's vocals, with the line "if you're looking for a savior, that's not me" directed to her fans. The song also addresses themes of the pressures of fame, with the lyric of "teen millionaire  having nightmares from the camera flash," and incorporates direct references to star-studded moments of Lorde's career, namely her attendance at the 2016 Met Gala. Musically, "The Path" is set in the key of F major with a tempo of 92 beats per minute. After the title track, the third song on "Solar Power" is "California", which begins with a reference to Lorde's hit single "Royals" being awarded the Grammy for Song of the Year by Carole King in 2014. "The Daily Telegraph" called "California" a "a playful goodbye to Hollywood," while Lorde claimed it as the song  she was most excited to dance to on tour in a July 2021 interview. The Mamas and the Papas also served as a direct melodic reference when inventing the song. Lorde began writing the fourth track and second single off the album, "Stoned at the Nail Salon," roughly six months after finishing her Melodrama World Tour, and later recorded it in Antonoff's home studio. A contemplative folk ballad, Lorde said in an email to fans the song was borne out of insecure feelings of fading into irrelevance and becoming out of touch with pop culture; "I was sure that  I was building a beautiful life for myself, but I wasn’t sure if that life was going to satisfy the same thirsty, fearless person who could tear apart a festival stage or be in seven countries in seven days." Track five on the album is "Fallen Fruit", which Laura Snapes of "The Guardian" described prior to the album's release as a "crushed flower-power lament for the spoiled Eden her generation inherited". It serves as a condemnation for prior generations over their inaction on climate change. "Fallen Fruit" is also the only song on the album to feature  an 808 drum machine in its production. "Secrets from a Girl (Who’s Seen it All)" is an upbeat pop tune meant to take on the form of advice to a past version of oneself. Lorde considers "Secrets" to be a response to "Pure Heroine"'s "Ribs," with the former reversing the primary chords of the latter's verses and the lyrics containing future wisdom wrought from lived experience; "This song is me in communication with another version of me, trying to send along the wisdom I’ve started to gather along the way." The traditional sound of British music  group the Eurythmics are credited as having inspired some of the melody, as well as Swedish singer-songwriter Robyn, who contributes a spoken-word interlude at the end of the song in the role of a "blissed-out flight attendant" coaching the listener through the confrontation of emotional turmoil. "Solar Power"'s B-side largely drops in tempo, starting with "The Man With the Axe," a love ballad which Lorde initially conceived as a poem after a party. She cites the minimal editing required to transform the original piece into a song as one of the record's greatest accomplishments . The following track, "Dominoes," was recorded at Electric Lady Studios with the doors open, which contributed non-diegetic and unintended sounds from outside to the final production, including audible police sirens. The song has been described as a satirical exploration of tropes of people seeking wellness and utopia, with the unnamed man referenced in the lyrics of the song to be one such representation. "Big Star" is a tribute to Lorde's dog, Pearl, whose death in late 2019 took a heavy toll on the singer and caused a reconfiguration of the album as a whole. Lorde began writing it  on the piano with Pearl at her side; "I looked down and was like . . . 'You big dummy. You're never going to know that I'm writing this song about how much I love you.'" "Big Star" also features an interpolation of a lyric from the "Melodrama" song "Liability," with the latter's "Every perfect summer's eating me alive until you're gone" transformed into the former's "Every perfect summer's gotta say goodnight." Lorde had previously attributed the lyric as her favorite of her sophomore album in a 2017 interview, described as a pillar of the  record. In bringing the line back for "Solar Power", she found it to be a thoughtful invocation of the line's original power, "while giving it new meaning for a new life stage." The penultimate track and third "Solar Power" single, "Mood Ring," is a critique of wellness culture and the contrived methods of spiritual connectivity in the digital world. A "full satire" of material pursuits for emotional clarity, the lyrics contain references to popular new-age pseudoscientific practices, including crystal therapy, sun salutations, and astrology. Melodically, "Mood Ring" was meant to blend early-2000s musical trends with the psychedelic pop  of the 1960s and 1970s. "Solar Power"'s final track, "Oceanic Feeling," is Lorde's longest song to date, and one of the two songs on the album with O'Connor's exclusive writing credits (alongside the album's opener, "The Path"). The song primarily consists of two chords, described as "moving back and forth," with lyrics that pay homage to Lorde's home, her loved ones, a past relationship with celebrity culture, and a future family of her own. Kiwi singer Marlon Williams contributed vocals to the production, while another "Pure Heroine" callback presents itself at the album's conclusion , as Lorde muses about the imagery of robes and choirs she had previously song about in her song "White Teeth Teens." Release and promotion. In October 2020, Lorde urged her fans to vote in New Zealand's general election as well as the referendums on the personal use of cannabis and euthanasia, and added: "next year I'll give you something in return." The following month, she announced the release of "Going South", a memoir documenting her visit to Antarctica in early 2019, and added that the book was "a sort of perfect precursor [...] in an abstract way" to her  upcoming album. Lorde later revealed that the album title was inspired by the trip. On 25 May 2021, she was announced as a headliner for the 2022 Primavera Sound music festival, with the festival's website revealing that she "will emerge from her retirement with her third album." On 7 June, fans leaked the title and cover art for a single titled "Solar Power". Lorde consequently teased its release on her website alongside a message stating: "Arriving in 2021...Patience is a virtue." On 10 June, the song was leaked on dbree.org, a cloud storage website, and briefly made available  on Apple Music and Tidal in select countries before being promptly taken down. It was officially released later that evening, coinciding with that day's solar eclipse. Lorde further confirmed that her upcoming third album would also be titled "Solar Power" in her newsletter. On 21 June, the track listing and release date for the album were revealed. Lorde began the Solar Power Tour on 3 April 2022, with concert dates in Oceania, North America, and Europe. In a video titled "73 Questions with Lorde", published on 27 July 2021, "Vogue" interviewed Lorde about her fame, childhood dreams, and "Solar  Power". She discussed the album with "The New York Times", in an article published on 12 August 2021. Singles. "Solar Power", the title track, was released on 11 June 2021 as the lead single from "Solar Power". The release was accompanied by a music video, directed by Lorde and Joel Kefali, which was released on the singer's official YouTube channel the same day. It charted in many countries, including a peak of number 2 on the New Zealand Singles Chart, number 14 on Australia's ARIA Singles, and number 64 on the U.S. "Billboard" Hot 100. "Stoned at the  Nail Salon" was released as the second single on 22 July. The song had minor chart placement in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. On 18 August 2021, "Mood Ring" was released as the third single from the album. A music video for the track premiered alongside the release. It reached the top 10 on the New Zealand Singles Chart and peaked at number 93 on the "Billboard" Global 200. On 2 November 2021, "Fallen Fruit" was released as the fourth single from the album, coinciding with the release of the album's bonus tracks, "Helen of Troy" and "Hold No  Grudge", to streaming services. Environmental impact. Unlike for her previous albums, Lorde did not release "Solar Power" on CD for environmental reasons; she has stated that she does not want to "make something that would end up in a landfill in 2 years". Instead, an eco-friendly "music box" with handwritten notes, exclusive photographs, and a download card is available for those wanting a physical manifestation of the album in addition to the digital release. Lorde stated that, with the music box, she wanted to "create an environmentally kind, forward-thinking alternative to the CD" that would provide a high -quality download of the music similar to CD quality. Music trade publication "Hits" noted that the traditional CDs and their jewel cases are plastic materials that pollute the world's oceans. Some researchers have noted that vinyl records are also plastic products, and that "although digital audio files seem virtual, they rely on infrastructures of data storage, processing and transmission that have potentially higher greenhouse gas emissions than the petrochemical plastics used in the production of more obviously physical formats [...]" Section::::"Te Ao Mārama". On 9 September 2021, Lorde released a five-song companion EP to "Solar Power" titled "Te Ao  Mārama", meaning "World of Light" in Māori. The EP features five re-recordings of songs from "Solar Power" sung in the Māori language. Although Lorde herself isn't Māori, she worked with Māori language experts, including Sir Tīmoti Kāretu, and collaborated with Kiwi singers Bic Runga and Marlon Williams in order to highlight "the long history of injustices that Maori language and culture has suffered and the inequities that persist today, specifically in New Zealand's music industry." Proceeds from the EP will be donated to the charities Forest and Bird and Te Hua Kawariki Charitable Trust. Critical reception. "Solar  Power" divided music critics upon release, receiving a range of both positive and negative reviews. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 based on reviews from several publications, "Solar Power" received an average score of 69 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews". Spencer Kornhaber of "The Atlantic" hailed the album as a "near masterpiece", admiring its social critique and simplistic instrumentation, while "NME" critic Rhian Daly regarded it a beautifully produced album "that grows in quiet stature with every listen", aside wise lyrics. Mikael Wood of "Los Angeles Times" described "Solar Power  as a low-key" album depicting Lorde's burdens of fame. "Rolling Stone" critic Brittany Spanos branded it a "smooth and beachy" record that has Lorde search for peace whilst meandering through her quarter-life crisis. Chris Willman of "Variety" found the album's lyrics compelling and its melodies concise. Observing influences from the Doors and the Mamas & the Papas, Lucy Harbron of "Clash" underlined "Solar Power" "isn't a fully sun-soaked album", but rather "sun-stroked", delivering her usual introspection under a "bright and hazy" tone. Lean Greenblatt of "Entertainment Weekly" said it has a subdued quality, purposely  retiring the unfiltered vigour of her earlier albums, and delving into ease and "cool observation". Appreciating Lorde's vocals and "poetic" lyrics, "The New Zealand Herald" Lydia Burgham felt the album is a "slow burn" that abandons chart-friendly pop songs. Kate Solomon of "i" stated "Solar Power" gives up "dance anthems" for "warm, gentle, Laurel Canyon-inspired ruminations." Some reviews were more critical of "Solar Power". "Paste" reviewer Matt Mitchell wrote it is a "happy, charming juxtaposition" to the "sad-girl melancholia" of its predecessors, but its production by Antonoff is "not as rhapsodic" as his other works. Music  journalist Alexis Petridis, writing for "The Guardian", stated "Solar Power" sees Lorde flee celebrity life in favour of "homespun wisdom". He said the album sounds "undernourished" at its worst moments, but delivers overall. Sal Cinquemani of "Slant" opined Lorde rejects fame in the album, presenting herself as a "pop star in exile". He appreciated its acoustic composition, but felt it loses momentum in the second half. "The Daily Telegraph" Neil McCormick liked the album's lyrics, vocals, and the "utterly gorgeous" sound, but found it "underpowered" due to Lorde's new "over-privileged solipsist" perspectives. Bobby Olivier of "Spin" complimented  Lorde's deft songwriting, but labelled "Solar Power" her "least vital project". In her "Consequence" review, Abby Jones called it a "collection of luminous psych-pop", citing static production and clumsy pop culture references as its flaws, nevertheless. "The Sydney Morning Herald" Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen noted flower child elements, and summarised, although "Solar Power" is "a perfectly fine record", it is an "anticlimax" that is "lacking the "power and passion" of her past work. Alex Behan of Stuff wrote its songs have "understated elegance and charming harmonies", but its lyrics can be hackneyed and jarring. "Stereogum" critic James Rettig  admired Lorde's voice and certain parts of the album which he thought were catchy, but thought the holistic concept was "muddy", lacking "deeper engagement", and sometimes "too laid back" and indistinct. "Evening Standard" David Smyth, "The Independent" Helen Brown, and David Cobbald of "The Line of Best Fit" gave negative reviews: Smyth felt the songs on "Solar Power" "seem to take pride in their lack of ambition", Brown dismissed it as a disappointing, tuneless "collection of heat haze hippy noodlings", deficit of memorable hooks, while Cobbald deemed it Lorde's fall from grace, saying "it's a tired old  story, hearing about a rich white woman discovering crystals and then raving about the planet, peace, and love." Commercial performance. Two weeks before its release on 20 August 2021, "Solar Power" rose to number one on the Apple Music pre-add chart for the week dated 30 July to 5 August 2021. In the United States, "Solar Power" entered the "Billboard" 200 chart at number five with 56,000 album-equivalent units moved, consisting of 34,000 album sales, and 22,000 units calculated from the 28.38 million on-demand streams the album earned in its opening week. "Solar Power" is Lorde's  third top-five album on the chart, following "Pure Heroine" (number three in 2013) and "Melodrama" (number one in 2017). "Hits" criticised "Billboard" for not counting the sales of "Solar Power" "Music box", which are disc-less box sets containing a download card linked to a digital copy of the album, a 32-page booklet, a poster and some limited-edition goods, for the "Billboard" 200 chart; their own "Hits" Top 50 chart and the "Rolling Stone" Top 200 chart included the music box sales and placed "Solar Power" at number three in those charts. According to "Billboard" long-standing  rule, a box set must contain a physical copy of the album. It also reached Number 1 on the US Top Alternative Albums chart. In Australia, "Solar Power" debuted at Number 1 on the charts and charted for 6 weeks. It also reached Number 1 in New Zealand and the top ten in 14 countries including the UK where it reached Number 2 and Canada where it peaked at Number 6 on the Canadian Albums Chart. It reached the top 20 in a further 4 countries. Personnel. Adapted from Tidal.