Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash
The New Zealand superstar, Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor, otherwise known as Lorde, has recently hinted at releasing new music. On Sept. 16, the Kiwi pop star headlined Primavera Sound in Los Angeles, where she coyly admitted that she knows what is coming next in her discography.
As she took a break during her show, she sat on the stage accompanied by the notes of the song “Liability” off her sophomore album, Melodrama. Following that, she reminisced about her past albums, as well as hinting at a new body of work.
“When I was 20 it [the potential album] was about a boy, now it’s about the climate, and who knows what will come next? Well, I know. And you will know sometime soon.”
Although this is the first formal announcement regarding new music that has been put out since the release of her previous album, she admitted to being back to work, in her email newsletter for the month of July, better known as the Solar Institute Bulletin.
Because of the close bond that she has cultivated with her audience, the newsletters she sends out are often filled with random recounts of her tour experiences, and general life updates. The first hint that fans got on the newsletter regarding her new work reads as following:
“Can’t stop working……. why stop when it feels like play???…Obsessed with music again and listening to it all the time, not telling you what though, hihi huhu [sic].”
Likewise, the various hints she has dropped in the past few months are shocking for long-time fans of the singer, considering that she is known for taking long hiatuses between her music releases. Until now, each of her studio albums have taken an average time of four years to be crafted. For instance, her debut album Pure Heroine was released in 2013, with Melodrama following four years later in 2017.
Lorde’s last hiatus from the music industry went hand-in-hand with her disappearance from social media. Because of how grounded her most recent album, Solar Power, is on realities of climate change, and because of the draining nature of tour life, the alternative pop star felt the need to retreat from public life and outside influences. This unwillingness to contribute to pop-stardom expectations on social media is what originally led her to create her email newsletter, so we can thank her long break for the hints she has dropped to fans through email.
As far as the artistic direction of her new music goes, fans are still left in the dark. That said, some assumptions can be made regarding where her creative process may be at the moment.
Recently, she added “Precious Metals,” an unreleased track off of Melodrama, into the setlist for her tour, which hadn’t been performed since 2018. Moreover, she covered Rosalia’s “Hentai” back in April when she played a gig in New York City at the Radio City Music Hall. If these pop-perfection tracks are any indication of her direction for the next record, its release will be an exciting announcement for pop enthusiasts.
Lorde’s hints and musical influences throughout the past few months are creating a great build-up for pop fanatics, and the momentum she is gaining will make her new work much anticipated.