PURE HEROINE
| Lorde
PURE HEROINE
Pure Heroine is the debut studio album by New Zealand singer Lorde, which was released through Universal, Lava, and Republic Records on 27 September 2013. After several unsuccessful sessions with songwriters, Lorde was paired with Joel Little by A&R representative Scott Maclachlan, who assisted with the album's production. Recording took place at Golden Age Studios in Auckland. Pure Heroine has been described as a dream pop, electronica and electropopalbum with minimalist production, deep bass and programmed beats.-Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Pitchfork
a collection of throbbing, moody, menacingly anesthetized pop
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Rolling Stone
feels surprisingly real and fully formed, punching through sparse, cushily booming post-hip-hop tracks with vividly searching lyrics about growing up too fast that can seem at once arrogant and pensive
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Consequence of Sound
It’s a very grown-up album despite its teenage topics, and if you give a damn about good pop songs, then you owe it a listen.
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Pop Perfection
Her work with the lyrics made the album such an amazing experience to listen to.
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AV Club
a scattered, but preternaturally gifted album, charting the rise of a new teen phenom with enough awareness to navigate crossover success with aplomb
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NME
Lorde has created something organic and unspoiled
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Music Feeds
sprightly, graceful, and highly satisfying album
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The Guardian
packs more finger-clicking disenchantment into three minutes than Lana del Rey managed in an entire album
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Pretty Much Amazing
unique and engaging enough to keep the conversation going
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Pop Matters
a lush, engaging experience
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Minnesota Public Radio
a great record
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New Zealand Herald
It's smart, funky, simple, elegant and extremely listenable.
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PPCORN
the emotions each song conveys and overall underdog-feel of the album will never get old
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Smash Cut Reviews
an achievement in production and songwriting. Lorde proves herself to be one of our generations voices with one of the greatest debuts of the decade.
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Spin
the music is aggressively okay
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Huffington Post
a lyrical treasure trove
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Slant Magazine
what really makes Pure Heroine shine is the deconstruction of their musical conceits
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All Music
there are big hooks in the choruses and verses -- and in the production, which accentuates a sad shimmer where everything is beautiful and broken
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Drowned in Sound
a record packed full of inspirational, intelligent monologues
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Pop Crush
a stellar debut for the Kiwi singer
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The Line of Best Fit
O’Connor’s coup d’état on Pure Heroine is ultimately the subversion of sentiment and expectations she achieves as Lorde
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The Star
combines smart lyrics and spacious music to forge a clever and appealing new alternative-styled sound
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Source Magazine
Overall a good album, but could do with a dose of variety.
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Time Out
remarkably accomplished debut album
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Boston Globe
This is the rare debut that’s smart and disarming and instantly catchy.
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The Daily Princetonian
If her larger-than-life curls and anti-consumerist summer hit “Royals” weren’t enough to establish Lorde as the coolest girl in pop, her debut album Pure Heroine surely will.
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Music OMH
This is a remarkable debut that fairly sizzles with confidence and attitude.
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Off the Tracks
I liked it
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Edmondton Journal
Pure Heroine is a contender — rebellious, atmospheric, intoxicating and unforgettable.
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Idolator
a very good calling card for an artist that could go on to do great things
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Brent Music Reviews
an overall well executed debut, particularly from a 16-year old
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London in Stereo
It’s splendidly ominous
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Best New Bands
lives up to all of the hype surrounding Lorde and then some
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It's Fluffy
a curious mix of female strength and sheer addiction, as the title implies
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Irish Times
It’s a brave, glorious pop album from a real-deal songwriter and accidental pop star
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Pop Culture Monster
This is the new standard for pop.
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Golden Ples
This is a noteworthy début release from Lorde, with a solid theme, distinctive sound and promise of more to come.
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Noted
its constituent parts are strong enough to suggest greatness
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Gigwise
it's no surprise that her album is fused with raw, powerful vocals and intricate dub-beats that give a glimmer of popstar without the skimpy outfits and tackiness
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Stuff
This was the reason Lorde was embraced so quickly. It was, at least initially, on the power of song.
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Newsday
With "Pure Heroine," Lorde ensures that her reign is built to last.
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Cryptic Rock
The strength behind the lyrics, musicality, and vocals on the album are literally like nothing we’ve ever heard before.
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Chicago Tribune
The New Zealander’s voice is gorgeous, smoky and mature, her songwriting devoid of any trace of fluff even though she’s tackling relevant teen topics.
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Seeds
Pure Heroine is a fantastic debut for an artist that hopefully has a very long career ahead of her.
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Redbrick
an impressively consistent debut by any standard, even more so coming from a sixteen year old
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True Music Reviews
"Pure Heroine" EXCEEDED my high expectations.
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34th Street
The lyrics are still refreshing and the background beats intriguing, but the album overall follows a fairly slow pace.
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Witchdoctor
Pure Heroine is Lorde beautifully laying her cards out on the table.
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Thomas Bleach
Lorde’s vocals are very interesting and so unique that it keeps you intrigued and wanting to keep listening.
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COTMA Sounds
Her words are the crown jewels. In short, Pure Heroine is pure genius.
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Velocities in Music
one of those intriguing debut albums that electrifies the music industry
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The Sydney Morning Herald
Lorde lives up to the hype
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Pear Shaped Dexter
I respect the work and the sentiment a great deal, and the music is good
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Performer Magazine
Perceptive, evocative, and unpretentious
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Earmilk
Lorde's debut establishes her as a true player on the international stage, and sets her up from even bigger things in the future.
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Renowned for Sound
she has undoubtedly managed to craft an album that sounds both ambiguously seasoned and fresh, with the flair of an artist that is only just beginning to warm up to her canvas
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Everythings Gone Green
There’s some great tunes, some quality songwriting, and Joel Little’s production certainly allows the music to breathe in a way that showcases an unexpected level of maturity.
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Evolution of a Fan
almost pure pop genius. The authenticity found in Lorde’s songwriting proves that she is very close to these words.
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Celebrity Cafe
Lorde has proved herself as a talented writer and artist with Pure Heroine, and she stands out amongst a sea of cloned teen pop stars as mature and slightly mysterious.
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Polari Magazine
Her ability to compose and express these experiences in such an accessible and grounded but haunting style may be her downfall but our gain.
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Scan
The album has a certain poetic rawness and unlike her contemporaries Lorde’s lyrics are unstained by teenage egoism.
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Spectrum Pulse
Lorde's Pure Heroine is a good, possibly even great album and I'm sure plenty of her fans and target audience (self-aware teenagers her age) will adore it. Me... eh, not so much, and to explain why ...
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NY Daily News
Lorde makes uniformly slow, doomy and synth-drenched songs
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The Lance
Pure Heroine is a gem. The album captures teenage life without sugar coating anything.
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Arena
It was surprisingly deep and fully realized considering her young age, which tackled adolescence from a very authentic stance.
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Pop'stache
solidifies the teen artist as an extraordinary talent with striking vocal maturity
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Nouse
Pure Heroine is increasingly being seen as the solution to superficial lyrics and sexual provocation.
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Tampa Bay Times
Her young age makes this dark glamor more interesting because it is so unique.
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The Lantern
With most of the tracks having a club music feel to them, the album lacks a music presence, but Lorde’s vocals and lyrics fills this void.
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The Elliot Music Review
Her lyrics are profoundly eye-opening and critical of the materialism that has, for many, become the measure of success.
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The Centinial
It is a hard story to hear but it is an important one, that life is hard but being yourself and not falling into the crowd can make it a more enjoyable ride.
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VADA Magazine
here’s a precocious charm involved, which may be down to Lorde’s age but is more likely a result of her great writing skills, showcasing both vulnerability and indifference.
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The West Australian
While the album gets darker before ending on a high with current single Perfect Places, Melodrama is no pity party.
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The Cardinal Times
Simplistic, vocal focused, and tasteful, “Pure Heroine” is a departure from the usual radio fare.
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Soso Active
addictive, beautifully executed, well produced, and extremely well written
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Vivascene
There is a juggernaut of talent and passion embedded deep in the lungs of young Lorde.
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The Filtered Lens
uninspired at times, but often beautiful and very promising
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No More Workhorse
The entire album is like a slow-drip intravenous feed of bare electro (at times almost ‘chopped and screwed’) mixed with punchy, beautiful and harmoniously layered vocals.
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B-Sides
Overall the album is excellent in meaning and musical style, and the name Pure Heroine is a perfect fit!
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Everything Express
Lorde’s songs artfully mix clever wordplay and layered vocal harmonies. While the stripped down production (care of Joel Little), all chilled beats and minimal backing tracks, help leaven the tone, there’s just very little light and shade.
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The Mic Magazine
a magnificent debut and possibly the best album of 2013
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Signifying Sound and Fury
the album succeeds because the music succeeds. The melodies are catchy, but not too repetitive.
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The Gizzle Review
a trend-setting album for pop fans who are too cool to actually follow trends
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Argus Online
The album is rated five out of five stars for bringing back life to the music scene and demonstrating what artists should be doing rather than focusing on looks.
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El Modena Frontline
Lorde’s “Pure Heroine” is Pure Genius
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OK West
Throughout the fantastic Pure Heroine, Lorde delivers some of the most dynamic pop music of 2013.
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Critic of Music
an album that can be universally acclaimed by listeners of all backgrounds
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Medium
Lorde’s repertoire presents a profound self-awareness and a lyrical articulacy reminiscent of Sylvia Plath and e. e. cummings
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Headline Planet
sixteen-year-old singer-songwriter combines the contrasting dualities of passionate apathy and aggressive subtlety to create a masterpiece that feels like an alternative album but plays like a pop one
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Stereo Board
Take a look over your shoulder, if you would, at your 16-year-old self. Were you assured, confident, eloquent? Didn’t think so. On her debut, ‘Pure Heroine’, Lorde, or Ella Yelich-O’Connor, is all of those things.
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Paddlepop Skies
Pure Heroine and Lorde herself, impressed me.
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Rock On Philly
It’s got grit and unexpected gravity; she doesn’t show off here, she’s just doing what comes naturally. Her edgy, unpretentious, and blunt voice is a welcome one to the pop scene
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Void Live
for some reason I’m finding Pure Heroine to be quite addicting …
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Clash Music
her lyrical devices and clever wordplay blend point and simplicity seamlessly without ever leaving the listener feeling left out.
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Newshub
thanks to lyrics that are both autobiographical and poetic, this album isn't going to age
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