There are few artists I would consider to be absolutely essential to setting the trends and norms of any generation’s soundscape; Lorde is one of them. She has been one of the driving and most influential forces of my generation’s artistry.
Lorde first played on our radios (or, more likely our parents’ radios) as a teenager. I remember being introduced to her through “Royals” as a child, before I was really into music or knew what I liked. Upon entering my teenage years and beginning my foray into finding what media made me happy, I was gladly reunited with her through the near-flawless Melodrama. “Supercut” was the song that alerted me to her reappearance, through the FIFA 18 soundtrack; EA don’t do much good, but I’ll give them that one. Her sophomore album is arguably one of the greatest records of the 2010s. While she hasn’t always struck gold (2021’s Solar Power, for example, wasn’t exactly the cultural phenomenon the perplexing marketing campaign described it as), there’s an itch that only some Lorde can scratch sometimes.
My music taste has changed as I’ve grown up, but some aspects have remained constant. My love for Lorde’s music has been consistent for nearly a decade. So receiving the news of her new album, I and many other terminally online losers wishing for our youths back, reacted with anticipation. Hot off a gargantuan collaboration with the trailblazing Charli XCX, Lorde’s first true single for four years is here. ‘“What Was That” channels the sweltering, choking visions of a rough night Melodrama offered to us nearly eight years ago. Here, she reflects on her feelings towards a breakup.
A forlorn Lorde can’t shake the absence of her lover. This is a sentiment common in her work: a recurring theme of her music is looking back, whether it is her adolescence or a partner. The titular question reiterates a confusion, and anger, which many of us have felt over the dissolution of a relationship. “What Was That” is screeching and gloriously maximalist. While reminiscent of Jack Antonoff’s production from her 2017 magnum opus, her return doesn’t sound derivative. I only hope that this return to a Melodrama-esque sound isn’t due to Lorde using it as some kind of crutch or safety net due to the criticism of Solar Power’s more intimate and minimalist approach. The sound, while fantastic, isn’t what made Melodrama what it is, but rather the authenticity, relatability and sheer force driving the emotionality. Thankfully, she described the context behind the song’s conception: “Deep breakup. Stopping birth control. Every meal a battle. Flashbacks and waves. Feeling grief’s vortex and letting it take me. Opening my mouth and recording what fell out.”
The song debuted in full with a sudden appearance in New York among local fans. There’s an endearing simplicity to this rollout. The music video was filmed on a phone, and features footage of this arrival among us commoners. Perhaps that’s the angle of the promotion this time around; after the other-worldly and bizarre characterisation used to advertise Solar Power, which caused some fans to feel somewhat misled upon listening to it, a more “authentic” Lorde may be the way to go.
This seems to have worked: “What Was That” has become her first number one song on US Spotify since her 2013 breakout hit. Lorde is firmly pop royalty, and not because of any self-fulfilling prophecy from the name of her breakout single.
Image credit: Universal Music New Zealand Limited
