Lorde- Pure Heroine
Released September 27, 2013
Universal
Lorde has been creating a lot of hype lately, and I figured it required me to comment on it. This 16 year old solo artist from New Zealand has suddenly become famous in a very short period after her two mega singles "Royals" and "Tennis Courts" were released. Now her first full-length album is out and it's got plenty of people talking.
This album opens up with the track "Tennis Courts", which features a very minimalistic drum and bass loop that remains prevalent for the remainder of "Pure Heroine." While listening to this song, you'll hear a couple decent build-ups, a couple cool melodic lines, and way too many "yeah yeahs!" This transitions to the second track, "400 Lux." This is honestly the most forgettable songs on this album, both musically and lyrically. This song seems to simply exist, and never really demands attention from my ears.
Next up is Lorde's big hit "Royals." It is understandable why this song has become so popular. Featuring an almost danceable and broad drum beat and bass line mixed with a catchy chorus, this track is built to sell. Now, does that make this track great? In occasionally instances it can be, in this situation no. "Royals" is seriously lacking in dynamic flavor and lyrical drive. It's a lot of fluff lacking true ambition and substance.
One of the best songs on this album is "Ribs" which is more slowed down and emotionally driven than other 9 songs on "Pure Heroine." "Ribs" deals with the fears of life and growing up. The pulsating kick beat rhythm is very satisfying to the ear which accompanies the most honest and vulnerable chorus on this record. The other song I would recommend listening to is "Team", which is definitely the most ambitious work Lorde has to offer in all aspects.
The past couple weeks have involved me hearing tracks off this album in people's car and plenty instances of people asking "Have you heard that Lorde album yet?!" We live in a time where people getting excited over a whole album and not just a radio single seem to be a bit rare. For that reason, I have to smile a bit. Lorde is turning into the perfect gateway into better music than what the radio feeds uninformed casual listeners. However, unfortunately I cannot call "Pure Heroine" a great album.
Now I'm not saying this is a bad record. In fact there are quite a few really nice moments, and I did enjoy my listen for the most part. "Pure Heroine" is very flawed. Lyrically it can get pretty awful at times. It comes across as a 16 year old girl trying to hard to sound wiser than her age. There is a certain immaturity in the themes and ideas that will probably improve with age and experience. Instrumentally, we hear a very lo-fi drum and bass pattern that doesn't vary much throughout this record. It lacks in dynamics and never really succeeds in pulling the listener farther into the experience. There is a lack of consistency, with a few good songs, a couple listenable tracks, and quite a few forgettable numbers. The album seems to give up towards the end in which the songs get weaker, and the experience gets diminished. Lorde does provide us with some nice moments, cool melodies, and impressive harmonies, but it's not enough to propel "Pure Heroine" forward.
I don't know if I've emphasized the fact that Lorde is only 16. Her voice is definitely commendable for her age. The fact she is so young leads me to believe that she has a ton of potential as an artists and the aforementioned flaws of this release will improve on future releases. I am looking forward to hearing some potentially killer stuff from her in upcoming years. Right now, I have to judge her for what it is. 2013 has provided us with some great work from female artists and female fronted groups such as: Laura Marling, Janelle Monae, Julianna Barswick, Julia Holter, the Knife, Savages, Chvrches, Haim, and Neko Case. I can't justify placing Lorde into this elite class.
My rating 71/100
