I wasn’t really a beach person. I hated the heat, the sweat, the discomfort of sand sticking to my wet feet, and the irrational fear that a shark or a shoal of piranhas would magically appear and eat me. I preferred the patter of rain and the cool wind. But spending the pandemic indoors made me want to go to the sea and experience the things I used to hate. Hearing Lorde’s new album, Solar Power, made me want to go even more.
Solar Power is the singer’s third album and is a departure from her earlier work. While Melodrama bared Lorde’s soul in electropop, Solar Power is more laidback, more chill. Lorde confirms this during an intimate press gathering where she discussed her latest album.
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A few years ago, she revealed that she has sound-to-color synesthesia, which lets her see colors when notes are played. For her, Solar Power is the color gold. Lorde says, “I wanted everything to look like gold or yellow to me because it was sounding like the sun. I really wanted everything to feel like I had the sunshine in it so everything’s pretty gold. There’s a couple of greens and blues but for the most part, it’s a gold record.”
Lorde adds that “this album is very much a celebration of the natural world, and, and thinking about the natural world.”
You get the idea even if you don’t have synesthesia. In the lead single, also called “Solar Power,” Lorde celebrates the beauty of the sun. She sings, “Lead the boys and girls onto the beaches /Â Come one, come all, I’ll tell you my secrets / I’m kinda like a prettier Jesus.“
She gently coos, “Forget all of thе tears that you’ve cried It’s ovеr (Over, over, over, over) / It’s a new state of mind / Are you coming, my baby?” It’s more guitar-driven with a touch of indie pop. It’s the perfect soundtrack to the summer.
This relaxed state of mind extends to the next two singles, “Stoned at the Nail Salon” and “Mood Ring.” In the former, Lorde turns introspective and ponders the passage of time amidst a folksy beat.
She croons about the wellness lifestyle in the breezy “Mood Ring.” The song is both a satire of wellness culture while understanding why people get into it. Even if you haven’t gotten into the craze, you’ll probably relate to the lines, “I can’t feel a thing / I keep looking at my mood ring / Tell me how I’m feeling / Floating away, floating away.”
While Solar Power the album is more light and fun, there are tracks where Lorde gets personal. She said that there are “moments that are sort of big and joyful like ‘Solar Power'” but that there are quiet moments where she thought about the past and future, her family, loss, and moving on.
For example, “Oceanic Feeling” is a song about her brother, her father, and what her kids will be like in the future. It’s Lorde’s favorite track on the album, saying that it’s “personal and special to me.”
Another personal song is “Secrets from a Girl (Who’s Seen it All).” According to Lorde, “that is me, kind of talking to my younger self as my 24 year old self and sort of trying to impart some of the stuff that I have learned along the way.”
Summer may have come and gone this year with many of us spending our time indoors. With Solar Power, we can relive the summer days and imagine we were at the beach.
What do you think? Share your thoughts below!
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