Lorde is probably the most famous pop star that nobody I know really talks about. At least, not without referencing South Park. Having only released a single album since her explosive debut Pure Heroine, Lorde seems to be the kind of artist who is content to take her time in producing new work, and would rather the hype and mystique that only time can bring instead of potentially over-saturating her market. Whatever works for you, Ella.

Lorde’s 2^nd album, Melodrama, completely passed me by, and I was not even aware of its existence until I saw a banner advertisement for this one, splashed across the side of a plywood fence obscuring a multilevel apartment block development site. Melodrama continued to follow the groundwork laid down by Pure Heroine, with heavy production and layered vocal tracks building a Spector-esque wall of sound, however eschewing the somewhat cheap GarageBand instrumental plugins for more organic sounding synth patches and analogue instrumentation.

Solar Power, however, is somewhat of a marketed departure from that familiar sound. Self-described by Lorde as her “weed album”, the tracks employ a more stripped-down instrumentation, less abrasive sonic textures, and minimalist approach to percussion. While listening to the opening track, ‘The Path’, I had high hopes for the album. The track employs a lush synth-heavy instrumental, drawing on ambient influences, and Lorde’s trademark vocal layering is present as well, creating an almost dream-like atmosphere that serves as an excellent appetiser to entice you to enter the world she has created. Unfortunately, all dreams must come to an end. The 2^nd track, the namesake of the album – Solar Power, is an underwhelming, more acoustic affair, that only demonstrated to me a reason why Lorde favours the use of layering – to obfuscate the mundane timbre her vocals can often drift toward. This is definitely a stylistic choice, as several songs on the album employ a similar framework and approach to songwriting and production, while others return to the template followed by The Path, as mentioned earlier.

My interest and enjoyment of the album slowly waned, track by track, as the music began to peter out into comforting background noise, rather than an engaging 3^rd LP by an accomplished songwriter. The only time my attention was grabbed in any meaningful way was to cringe at some of the downright embarrassing lyrics employed on the album (Mood Ring being a strong offender, in particular), and then before I knew it, it was over.

Solar Power doesn’t overstay its welcome, which is definitely a point in its favour, but it doesn’t really seem to do much of anything. It feels like its trying to be Tame Impala’s The Slow Rush, but lacks a lot of the substance and upbeat moments that carried that album along, and made it such a strong release of 2020. Whilst I can relate to the musings about loving the summer and the loathing of the ‘winter blues’, the highly plastic manufactured quality of the album really strips away the authenticity, and the laid-back nature of the songwriting – almost basking in its own indifference – transforms it into pop-muzak. Elevator tunes to be played at low volume through all your favourite department stores in the coming springtime and summer months.

Finally, I must mention the album art for this release. This is probably the most baffling choice for an album cover I have seen from a major label release in quite some time. I think I understand what is attempting to be conveyed here: Lorde is skipping along the sand, tying into the lyrics talking about her love of the beach and summertime, but I just cannot comprehend why this particular shot was chosen. It’s such an unflattering voyeuristic angle, that almost looks like the shot that would be taken after somebody had drunkenly barrelled into a self-timed camera while they were chasing after a frisbee.

If you’re a Lorde fan, you’ll probably get a kick out of this album if you’re in the mood for something a little low-key, but don’t go in expecting lightning in a bottle.