After taking a four year hiatus from releasing music, Lorde released “Solar Power” in late August, revealing to fans a more mature, at-peace side of herself. While less intense and passionate than Lorde’s past two albums “Melodrama” and “Pure Heroine,” the serenity of “Solar Power” will blissfully transform listeners into their own peaceful state. 

Starting with the song “The Path,” Lorde tells the story of rejecting the status quo path to fame and the notion that celebrities hold all the answers. Instead, she urges listeners to find answers in nature, singing “let’s hope the sun will show us the path.” 

As the album continues, Lorde sings about accepting her authentic self and embracing nature. The album is simplistic and sonically repetitive, but somehow it works. Rather than just creating songs and a storyline, Lorde created her own energy with this album. 

Beginning in June, Lorde released three lead singles: “Solar Power,” followed by “Stoned at the Nail Salon” and “Mood Ring.” After one listen, I quickly added “Solar Power” to my summer playlist. While it is not my all-time favorite Lorde song, it’s fun and sounds like summer. 

The track “Stoned at the Nail Salon” is beautiful. In it, Lorde questions if she made the right decision to step back from fame, creating a transparent and raw reflection, similar to her other iconic sad songs “Writer in the Dark” and “Liability.”  

“Well, my hot blood’s been burning for so many summers now,” Lorde sings. “It’s time to cool it down, wherever that leads.” This song was one of the first Lorde wrote, and it perfectly explains her yearn to unwind and disconnect. 

Only a few days before Lorde released the full album, she also released the song “Mood Ring,” in which Lorde satirically sings about people trying to find meaning and emotions in society today. With lyrics like “ladies, begin your sun salutations” and “you can burn sage and I’ll cleanse the crystals,” Lorde pokes fun at the ways we try to create emotions, again leading back to her main message of embracing nature for authentic happiness. 

The lead singles capture the feel of the whole album perfectly. The entire album kept the summer feel while still maintaining a slower and more peaceful sound. Like many of Lorde’s past songs, each song in the album builds as it continues. Lorde also layers voices and strips down instruments, which creates a very soothing sound. 

I was waiting for another blast-in-the-shower hit like “Green Light” or “Supercut” but never got it. Unfortunately for me, that’s the whole purpose of the album. Lorde doesn’t want to create another pop radio hit, and fans are going to have to accept that and move on. 

If you don’t have 45 minutes to dedicate to the whole album, I would recommend at least listening to “Mood Ring” and “Solar Power.” But even if you never listen again, it might be worth trying as background music for homework or journaling because of the peaceful nature of the album.  

While I would recommend “Melodrama” to new Lorde listeners over “Solar Power,” there is no doubt Lorde’s new album offers something unique and special, especially in the insanity of the world right now. She offers fans a chance to connect with her music, nature and themselves in an unseen before, beautiful way. 

If you love this album, or just Lorde in general, you can join her on tour this spring at The Anthem in D.C..