Record review: Lorde – «Solar»: Sommerlig sløvsinn – VG

Release records in a four-year period is a risky sport – at least in the upper echelons of the pop world, where volumes like fit, cuteness, and momentum are flowing at a brisk pace.

Ella Maria Lani Willish-O’Connor – a 24-year-old New Zealander who calls herself Lord – broke ground when she was 16 with the plausible electro-pop epic “Royals” and the album “Pure Heroine” (2013). Four years later, she released the more ambitious and critically acclaimed sequel, “Melodrama”.

Since then, four new years have passed, and now “Solar” – like its predecessor created in collaboration with the ubiquitous producer Jacques Antonov – is finally here. Was it worth the wait? Basically no.

It sounds so good, this one – so airy, uncomplicated and summery that you can literally feel the grains of sand drifting between your toes as you listen. But “Solar” lacks two very tangible components when the record is weighed against the best in the genre – lyrical weight and melodic effect.

The lyrics oscillate between shots of growing up in the spotlight (“The Track”), satire on distinct luxury culture (“The Mood Ring”) and perverted reports from the corona bubble—the latter literally: The words “Born in the Year of OxyContin” begin the album, and there’s no shortage. In references to several medicines in the subsequent eleven songs also.

However, this is a topic for both King’s wool And Billie Eilish He delved into his releases for this year. Musically, it also gets pretty cramped and simple—just “Fallen Fruit” and the very short “Leader of the New Order” stand out amid a crowd of drowsy, mid-tempo pop.

And with the short part of the spoken word, Robin – in her role as an existential flight attendant – has become a sadly underutilized resource in “Secrets From a Girl (Who Saw It All)”.

Your day is still supposed to be busy until “solar energy” directly provokes you.

the best song: “Leader of a New Order”