When “Liability” came out, it sucker punched me right in the face. You start listening to it and you’re like, ‘Oooo this is nice’, and then the lyrics sink in and your face turns red and the tears start welling and then BAM! Emotions!
Lorde has a way of doing that. She knows how to hook you in with a beautiful light innocence, and once it soaks in, she twists your insides and makes you nostalgic for something you’re not even sure you’re nostalgic for.
After the roaring success of her debut 2013 album Pure Heroine, fans have been itching for the follow up. After years of waiting it’s finally here, and it comes in form of Melodrama, which hit stores on Friday.
As well as “Liability”, we were given, “Green Light”, “Sober” and “Perfect Places” as teasers. All of which had that perfect balance of pop and electric mixed with a dash of romanticism. This made me wonder, “Damn is this going to be one of those anticlimax albums?” The type where all the good songs are released early to create hype, but then the album turns out to be average.
Good news, I was wrong.
Whilst those songs were great on their own, they are even better merged together in an album. Melodrama is a perfect example of what Lorde does best; she tells a story. Just like the name suggests the album plays out like a modern Shakespearean play. There’s the lust (“Homemade Dynamite”), the love (“The Lourve”), the heartbreak (“Supercut”) and eventually, the healing (“Perfect Places”).
Moving from dance tracks to piano ballads, to string sections and dramatic percussions, the music flows just like the story; as though the instruments are progressively growing with the lyrics. Vocally, Lorde demonstrates her own personal growth and maturity. Her low raspy vocals in, ‘Writer in the Dark,’ is a perfect example of this.
While this album still has the youthful feel of Pure Heroine, in a way it’s also more grown up. It’s that part between not quite being a teenager but not yet an adult. The limbo part, where you continuously make stupid mistakes, but from them you grow and you learn and you become who you’re supposed to be.
Review Score: 8.5 out of 10 – AU APPROVED!
Melodrama is out now. Lorde will be touring the record across the globe and will be returning to Australia November 18th-26th. For more info visit: her official website.
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