By Angelica Hall
The Lorde has risen, after four years of hiatus.
Four years after the release of her third studio album “Solar Power”, the Kiwi singer has finally blessed her loyal fanbase with the announcement of a new album, called “Virgin,” shortly after the release of her new single “What Was That”.
‘What Was That’ marks new bold era
On April 24, the 28-year-old “Royals” singer quietly dropped her latest song.
With this new single, Lorde’s fourth album sounded as though it would dive deeper into the emotional terrain that she began exploring with Melodrama, while at the same time cloaked in the sun-drenched nostalgia and introspection of “Pure Heroine”.
“What Was That” serves as the perfect reintroduction – synth pop steeped in her longing and fragmented memories. The track’s shimmering production contrasts with its melancholic lyrics, capturing the sensation of replaying a moment one can’t quite let go of. It’s a song for the emotionally haunted, wrapped in glossy neon haze – a familiar sound for those who also loved the singer’s “Green Light”.
A week after its release, “What Was That” shot into the United Kingdom’s Top 10. In an interview with the BBC, Lorde revealed that the song was inspired by her previous collaboration with Charli XCX and the song “Girl, so confusing”, stating that her partnership with the English singer-songwriter encouraged her to explore her own vulnerabilities.
Lorde, whose real name is Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor, revealed that the album had taken a lot of work.
“I never thought it would come out,” she told BBC. “I wrote this from the perspective of, ‘well I could never say that’. “It was just sort of an exercise in saying everything I needed to say about a whole lot of different stuff and I put off dealing with that. I was like, that’s for future Ella to deal with.”
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“Virgin,” according to the Spotify countdown, will be released on June 27 this year. It will have a total of 11 tracks, including “What Was That.”
Speaking about her fourth studio album, the two-time Grammy-winning artist described the record as having a crystal-clear essence, “like bathwater, windows, ice, spit”.
She explained that both the lyrics and sound are stripped of embellishments, aiming for total honesty. “Full transparency,” she said. “The language is plain and unsentimental. The sounds are the same wherever possible. I was trying to see myself, all the way through.”
Lorde called it a reflection of her femininity – “raw, primal, innocent, elegant, openhearted, spiritual, masc.”
“I’m proud and scared of this album,” she added. “There’s nowhere to hide. I believe that putting the deepest parts of ourselves to music is what sets us free.”
Along with the countdown, the cover art for the album has also been released, featuring an X-ray image of a woman’s pelvis. Visible within the scan are details like a belt buckle, a trouser zipper and an IUD coil.
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