Solar Power
| Lorde
Solar Power
olar Power is the third studio album by New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde. It was released on 20 August 2021, by Universal Music. Lorde wrote and produced the album with American musician Jack Antonoff, whom she worked with on her second studio album, Melodrama(2017), as well. She opted against CDs for environmental reasons, releasing Solar Power to digital music platforms, streaming services, and as vinyl LPs only. -Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Pitchfork
Lorde returns with a self-aware, scaled-back album. Its holistic beauty and revelations about the natural world are often lost in the drab music.
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The Washington Post
It may be the logical end result of a broader trend toward hookless songs, though these tracks don’t just lack hooks, they lack melody or shape. They’re not even little chalk body outlines of songs. They don’t seem like songs that were on their way to something and got waylaid, they just … float by uneventfully, like clouds, so minimalist they hardly exist.
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The Dartmouth
The album is lyrically innovative and stunning in its explorations of nature, fame and growth, but it occasionally stagnates sonically.
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Music Connection
Despite the title’s potency, many of the songs lack the punch that we’ve grown to love from Lorde’s music. Still, tracks like “Solar Power” excel at delivering a simple but catchy groove and Lorde’s poeticism is consistently impressive.
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The Daily Aztec
With its smooth melodies and Lorde’s angelic harmonization, it easily makes for a soundtrack that can combat life’s more stressful matters.
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The Guardian
she has earned her wistful, floaty record.
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PopMatters
Lorde’s Solar Power is a disorganized, hackneyed collection that doesn’t deepen her existing body of work but introduces a woman riddled with white privilege.
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Redbrick Music
Overall, the album is lyrically rich but at times sonically sparse, with some songs risking being forgettable. That being said, upon multiple re-listenings, the songs are already beginning to grow on me, just as Lorde said they would. This is a sonically cohesive album that will certainly age like a fine wine over time. Simply listen to Solar Power the way that Lorde intended and you will not be disappointed.
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NME
The New Zealand star's third album continues her winning streak, as she blazes a trail through the pop landscape with a beautiful paean to nature.
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Variety
Lorde’s ‘Solar Power’ Finds a Once-Dark Star Tripping the Daylight Fantastic.
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Pepperdine University Graphic
The album, released Aug. 20 with Universal Music Group, brilliantly showcases Lorde’s growth as both an artist and a woman, as well as her reflections on the resilience of our planet through melancholic melodies and vulnerable lyricism.
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NYU News
This album is about Ella; it is her journey away from her pop-star persona and into a mature and defiant artist. The songs are self-aware and subdued and the writing intensely vulnerable. The guitar-heavy instrumentals are the perfect backdrop to her meditations.
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Loud and Quiet
The album’s main downfall is that its ‘big’ moments fail to go beyond pastiche. There are broad references to Primal Scream‘s Screamadelica in the canned drum loops, and Vampire Weekend‘s Father of the Bride in Jack Antonoff’s chorused guitar noodling – two projects that were already steeped in nostalgia. The slight songwriting and weak presentation means the album borders on novelty in its mid-tempo moments.
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Rolling Stone
Her long-awaited third album is smooth and beachy, searching for serenity in anxious times.
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The State Press
In its mellow instrumentals, echoey vocals and wistful lyricism, "Solar Power" evokes a certain feeling, like saying goodbye to an old friend — unsure of where the journey will take you — but sure that it’ll be somewhere good.
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ABC
Solar Power likely won’t define an era the way Pure Heroine did, or provide another blueprint for heartbreak, like Melodrama. But that’s the point. It’s not a Lorde album for everybody, but you suspect that’s exactly the way she wants it.
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Riff Magazine
Lorde in existential crisis mode on ‘Solar Power’.
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The Forty-Five
After the eighteen months we have all had, many of us are looking for the same thing, so whether you find it in crystals or crosswords, parties or pilates, perhaps one thing that unites us all, is the healing power of a little sunshine on our cheeks. And the sound of that sunshine is right here.
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The DA Online
A shimmery, sun-soaked return.
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Afterglow
Lorde's shift from edgier, alt pop to a more youthful, bubbly sound marks a vast development in her maturity as an artist and a person. She not only flaunts her talent for cryptically poetic verses and dreamy vocals once again, but her ability to find light within herself after overcoming heartbreak and heavy feelings. After a turbulent year-and-a-half, the fresh sound and hopeful messages of Solar Power offers listeners a much-needed sense of clarity and joy. By the end of the album, hopefully everyone can discover their own inner brightness.
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SMNW
Overall, the production and lyricism, although new to me, were great. It is a bit different from the typical music I enjoy, but there was so much variety in this album, it is tough not to love.
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The Cowl
Many of Lorde’s fans have felt the emotions expressed on her highly personal first and second albums, drawing connections between her life and theirs. Her listeners have always been on the same page as her. Solar Power is different, though. If fans did not already feel a connection to the relief that Lorde has experienced, they will after listening to the album. The artist has chosen to nurture healing and peace in her own life, and the album’s therapeutic softness may do the same for listeners.
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The Line of Best Fit
It’s a tired old story, hearing about a rich white woman discovering crystals and then raving about the planet, peace, and love. The fact that this is Lorde’s new direction on Solar Power is interesting since we’re now seeing the previously rebellious artist harness a persona that feels, quite simply, out of touch.
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The Texas Tasty
It’s reflective, timely, well-rounded, and it still holds true to Lorde’s poetic writing, but with a new sound. Solar Power balances both upbeat and softer tracks, and is a perfect album to end the summer season.
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The Young Folks
Solar Power is genuinely disposable pop; unlike Billie Eilish’s Happier Than Ever which is a tougher, much more fully realized album about being a successful young pop star and striving for happiness. Get lost in Eilish’s album instead, for there’s really no need to return to Solar Power.
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Black Boy Bulletin
Solar Power is not as sharp as its predecessors, but it does mark new ground for Lorde as a person and as an artist. She’s on this journey for herself and herself alone, and that’s a level of commitment that you can’t help but admire.
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KRNL Magazine
In its simplest form, “Solar Power” is Lorde telling us to go outside, and after cementing herself as one of our generation’s best artists she’s earned the right to do so.
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The Whit Online
Now at nearly 25, Lorde is a seasoned veteran in the entertainment industry with multiple awards under her belt. It may not be so easy for her to connect with her fans on a level of personal experience anymore, but if people are willing to listen, Lorde still has a lot to say and is worth a listen.
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Stereogum
I want Solar Power to be a little messier. It would have made for a more interesting album. Lorde has always seemed so perceptive, but Solar Power‘s message and overall sound are muddy without that deeper engagement. It arrives with a resounding shrug. I guess that’s the pitfall of making an album that is so even-keeled.
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The Independent Florida Alligator
With sovereignty over the way she exercises expression, Lorde has created a wildly distinctive work of art that encapsulates the emotional autonomy that comes with adulthood, capturing a specific era in life while instantaneously invoking wisdom that is timeless.
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Insider
Lorde's 'Solar Power' Is Quietly Brilliant.
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Paste Magazine
Lorde’s Solar Power Is a Feel-Good Flex That Rebels Against the Traditions of Contemporary Pop.
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The Observer
For Lorde, it’s a long-awaited escape from the industry’s expectations and assumptions. If “Pure Heroine” was an intentionally subversive understatement and “Melodrama” was reactionary maximalism, then “Solar Power” is a healthy equilibrium for Lorde, a newfound space of industry immunity and creative independence. And honestly, we love that for her.
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Beats Per Minute
each successive song on Solar Power feels like returning to the same yoga class day after day; there might be the odd new mantra or position, but there’s nothing truly revelatory.
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The Skinny
loose, laidback and strangely subdued.
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Atwood Magazine
On ‘Solar Power,’ Lorde affords us a new type of private emotion that enables us to live more passionately inside of ourselves, with others, and in the world.
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Ratings Game Music
Solar Power is Lorde’s most simplistic album. She sounds mellow from beginning to end. There is none of the chaotic energy that pulls out emotions you didn’t even know you had. I think this shocks people who listen to it for the first time, especially people who have been listening to Lorde for a while now. But that lack of energy doesn’t make the album bad. I still enjoyed it.
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Happy Mag
Listening to the album over and over, we’re still very much in a psychedelic land. But one can’t deny the feeling of innocence and love that immerses you in those soul-touching 43 minutes.
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Esquire
The songs shimmer in cinematic imagery and self awareness but lack the hooks that made "Green Light" and "Ribs" giant hits.
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The Atlantic
Lorde's 'Solar Power' Is A Near Masterpiece.
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Enloe Eagle's Eye
My thought’s on Solar Power are the same as many of Lorde’s long time fans– conflicted. When it comes to instrumentals the album does not disappoint. Instead of the hard-hitting electro-pop beats of Pure Heroine and Melodrama, Lorde opts for a more acoustic sound with soft drums and lush guitars that sound relaxing and beautiful.
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Renowned For Sound
As such, Lorde’s latest album Solar Power, in spite of arguably lacking the unsurpassable catchy pop of previous singles such as Royals and Green Light (the title track does not possess nearly the same enticing properties of album-opener Path), the album will appeal to UK and Kiwi fans alike, as well as those worldwide, catering for those with an affinity to pop stylings but also for those seeking music possessing more pathos.
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The Irish Times
Unsettling, macabre, pretty pop.
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The Lafayette Times
Solar Power is good, maybe even great, but not exceptional. And after two albums that were the latter, Solar Power can feel a little disappointing.
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The Gonzaga Bulletin
Lorde set out and accomplished exactly what she wanted to do — not to make another magnum opus, but to simply chill. Solar Power is not amazing, and that is the point.
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The Boar
This album is mediocre at best, and it’s simply a disappointment that it’s a Lorde album. I don’t really feel like she’s given us either anything of herself, or a significant contribution to music, as she did with her last two, unable to break down the barriers that so tightly confine this album sonically and lyrically. This album is a let-down after the hype, the wait, and the precedent she’s set. Will people still listen? Yes. Is it life changing? No. Sorry, Lorde.
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Sputnik Music
Solar Power is not a transformation so much as it is a straight regression. Lorde’s behind-the-scenes actions and motives may be admirable – inspirational, even – but unfortunately none of that translated to record here.
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Under the Radar Magazine
if you’re looking for a culture-changing album, an emotional experience, or more than two dance-worthy songs…Solar Power is not it, either.
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EW
There's a subdued quality to Solar Power that feels a lot like caution, or just self-protection — a deliberate retreat from the raw, unfiltered verve of her earlier output into the safer remove of a wry bystander more at ease with cool observation than confessional bloodletting. "Now that cherry-black lipstick's gathering dust in a drawer, I don't need her anymore/Cuz I got this power," she intones airily on the gauzy closer "Oceanic Feeling"; no longer really a girl at all, and keeping certain secrets to herself.
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Owl Radio
Solar Power is one of those albums that get better for people the more they listen to it. Hopefully, listeners can appreciate the summer sound and the new direction Lorde seems to be going in.
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The Oxford Student
Solar Power is, in an act of small defiance to the streaming age, an album that demands to be listened to in full. In her “weed album” Lorde masterfully creates a heady atmosphere that seeps into you the more you listen. Combining trippy acoustic guitars with breathy vocals that starkly contrast her earlier deep singing, Solar Power is less arresting than what came before. That, as she is so at pains to tell us, is exactly the point. Life is better when we slow it down; on Solar Power Lorde truly does seem (at points) to be happy, even if the blissful can tip over to the boring at times.
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Clash Magazine
Deeply cohesive, conceptual and considered. Controlled while still being unexpected. Comforting within confines, placing a new level of distance and boundaries between her personal life and her fans as she focusses on feelings over stories. Solar Power is a new era for Lorde, matured as she turns her consideration outwards towards her role in fan’s lives, while still leaving space for her signature confessional lyrics.
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AllMusic
If you're riding and vibing with Lorde, this bright shapelessness is superb mood music. If you're not riding her wave, Solar Power can seem elusive, even cloying, as it circles and sways with a smile.
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Hotpress
It’s by no means a clear-cut, full-circle moment, but it offers some sense of closure to a journey that shines in contradictions – balancing polished production against organic, even messy, meandering.
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The Alternative
Altogether, the work is an unfortunate piece of saccharine. The elements for the great folk-inspired record are there, but it falls dangerously short under the misguided direction of faux profound lyricism and new takes on old habits. The Laurel Canyon-inspired album stands as a late summer setlist, but I’m not confident how Solar Power will weather the rest of the year.
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The Music Sanctum
A big bravo for Lorde’s self-awareness, new state of mind and fearlessness to break her own mold.
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The Appalachian
With her newest record, Lorde proves she doesn’t need to return to the angsty days of “Pure Heroine” or the throbbing night-life of “Melodrama.” Artists grow, and their art grows with them. On “Solar Power,” Lorde extends an invitation to disappear into the sun with her and experience a celebration of life, growth and the beauty of it all.
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Ambient Light
Musically, yes. Nothing really jumps out at you. Nothing to hum in the shower, surely. But lyrically, it’s a treasure trove of references, milestones and touch points. The themes are clear, the goal is lofty but achievable.
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Stuff
The songs have understated elegance and charming harmonies. Stripped back and sans studio trickery, she’s still got the goods. It’s accomplished, the melodies latch quickly to your subconscious. She’s freed herself from the shackles (real or perceived) of success, and I look forward to what she does next.
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DIY Magazine
A heady trip that prances around greatness but settles for pretty good.
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The North Wind
Unfortunately, the creative energy of the concept does not translate to the listening experience leaving the seemingly profound lyrics and genuinely fascinating themes to fall flat after the first listen and never quite stick.
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The Royal Page
With every album, Lorde blows it out of the water with thought-provoking lyricism, even with a genre her discography is unfamiliar with. Solar Power may have taken four years, but this body of work was well worth the wait. Lorde put her heart and mind into this album and it shows. The genuineness and sincerity she put into this record makes each song as emotion-evoking as ever.
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The Cut
Solar Power is a lot of things, but more than anything, it sounds like true autonomy. Making the decision to opt out of a busy, overwhelming world isn’t easy, but if you sit back and let Solar Power wash over you, maybe you’ll find yourself wanting to do it too.
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Her Campus
To listen to Solar Power is to look into the mind of a young woman who wants to celebrate every little piece of joy in her life. For some members of the listening public, seeing the formerly purple-lipped musician with an intense stare grooving in a yellow dress to a song about sunshine is jarring. I would argue that those who find the album lacking in depth are missing an important point: that joy can feel as potent as sadness, and the breezy tone of Solar Power is what O’Connor deserves and the world needs right now.
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musicOMH
This might not be the album that everyone wanted from Lorde, but it’s a solid, dreamy effort that deserves exploration. There’s plenty here worthy of attention if you can focus for long enough. Her next step should be interesting as she seems to have dealt with leaving childish things behind at this point. Perhaps it’s time to start growing old disgracefully and start dancing like nobody’s watching.
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The Blazar
To conclude, we can say that ‘Solar Power’ is another success. It may not be Lorde’s most energetic album, but it’s definitely a calm piece of art. Don’t just stream it, buy it on vinyl, it’s worth it because this is probably one of the best pop albums of 2021.
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The Reflector
The biggest fault of the album, however, is its repetition which made it difficult to truly appreciate Solar Power’s strengths. Still, with a bit of intentional listening, the album’s two or three gems are certain to stand out. You’ll just have to listen for yourself.
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Northern Transmissions
Lorde has crafted a subdued, self reflective and very self aware collection of songs.
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Stereoboard
Easy-going music envelops her a comforting hug. Soul-drenched lyrics soothe like a mindful voice. ‘Solar Power’ is a serenely confessional album that appears from a haze of smoke and sunshine.
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The 13th Floor
It’s easy to dismiss Lorde as a teeny bopper… Let’s face it, here in New Zealand we were inundated with her since she was about 16. But this third album proves (if the other two didn’t) that she is a major talent, a songwriter to take seriously. (I hope that doesn’t sound patronising).
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The Patriot Press
Looking at this album without looking at her past discography makes it good, but I find it difficult to not look at her past work. It is catchy and all of the music flows nicely. This album shows us her growth from the last two albums.
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In Review Online
While it’s a worthy enough effort in a vacuum, the enduring, overwhelming impression is that Lorde’s connection to the world around her is what has always made her music feel so present and real, and in losing that thread, she here loses something essential. In the cracks of the album, there are moments where Lorde still shines brightly. It’s not enough to redeem Solar Power, but it is enough to reminding us of what has been, and what could still be in the future.
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Riot Magazine
Lorde’s Solar Power is an airy body of work that refuses to stand in the long shadow cast by its predecessor.
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Slant Magazine
When Lorde’s ruminations on fame and the environment are allowed to directly converse with the music itself, though, the results are as immersive as an ayahuasca ceremony.
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The Daily Princetonian
By her own description, “Solar Power” is all about devotion to the sun. Nevertheless, it feels more like watching the sun through the lens of a television screen, where its rays are seen but not felt. Over her oeuvre’s course, it’s always when Lorde is at her most unpredictable, her most quixotic, that she is at her best. It’s simply a shame that in “Solar Power” such occasions are few and far between.
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Medium
But there’s a big void that this album leaves; that being the lack of any true anthems. I would argue this quality was what truly put Lorde on the map. Without this, Solar Power suffers from blending in too much to the typical indie singer-songwriter framework that listeners like myself are too used to. In other words, this album feels far lees like something that is unmistakably Lorde.
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Square One Magazine
Lorde has always been original, making her a Grammy award winner, with even David Bowie himself calling her “The Future of Music”, but there is not much original in terms of the sound or how the themes are explored in Solar Power. Lorde said that it was a ‘Weed Album’ and it should be seen and listened to as that - a nonchalant, undemanding listen.
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B-Sides
Sure, ‘Solar Power’ might be a bit boring at some points, but the happiest people are the ones who can escape the melodrama and step into the placid, peaceful sunshine.
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The Oxford Blue
Solar Power is a soft, but firm, declaration of change and growth. It will be interesting to see how this album also matures alongside the rest of her discography.
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The Little Hawk
Many of the songs on this album have a hopeful upbeat sound, with lyrics that reflect how healing is an ongoing process. The last song, “Oceanic Feeling,” is a great end to the album, showing Lorde’s growth from her 2012 album Pure Heroine with the lyric, “plum red lipstick gathering dust in a drawer.” I interpret this as her having found confidence, and showing that she has grown from her 16-year-old prodigy stage.
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Backseat Mafia
The deeply-rooted organic aesthetic cohesion of the album grounded me, healed me, and provided a space to cherish the little moments.
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Vinyl Chapters
It’s been over four years, but New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde has returned to deliver another dose of excellence in the form of Solar Power.
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Metro Weekly
“Solar Power” is a solid, well-written song with undeniable charm, and Lorde might have been wise to set up our expectations for the album with a song that sounds more like a B-side. She seems like she’s over chasing trends, meeting expectations and above all, the idea of trying to dazzle people. While Solar Power may not be a knockout hit on the level of Melodrama, it is a pleasure to listen to in part because it sounds like exactly the album she wanted to create.
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QRO Magazine
Yet there is a bit too much cheery relax on Solar, enjoyable but not completely gripping, with similarly laid back instrumentation (fingers have been pointed at pop-producer extraordinaire Jack Antonoff), other songs fading behind those standouts or “Stoned at the Nail Salon”, which manages to both very reminiscent of prior Lorde, while also showing maturity.
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The MM Blog
These rare, insightful moments help to see the record as a more substantial piece rather than a random collection of breezy songs.
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The Spokesman-Review
many of these songs are wonderfully written, lyrically engaging and characteristically Lorde. And, overall, there’s a lot to like about “Solar Power.” So, if you’re a fan of Lorde, it’s definitely worth the listen.
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Nowhere Bros
So has the Lorde spark really gone? Or is this just a blip? A blip in a time of confusion and uncertainty? Only time will tell, but for now, I can safely say that Solar Power is not Lorde’s best work, and given the hype surrounding this album’s release and her comeback, that is kind of disappointing.
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The Needle Drop
Lorde lacks the writing chops or perspective to follow through on Solar Power's themes and satire.
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Uproxx
An album can be utterly disappointing, and still be excellent. This is the paradoxical feat that Solar Power, Lorde’s third, hotly-anticipated album has executed. And part of the problem lies within that hot anticipation, more than it does in what the artist herself has delivered.
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Daily Bruin
Although it is a departure from the albums ridden with teen angst and operatic existentialism, “Solar Power” is no less of a statement. Lorde is assured in her identity not as a spokesperson for the masses or an emotional savior, but as a more content version of herself. Now she is in communion with nature, forging a different path in her artistic career.
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The Mic Magazine
Solar Power is entirely unlike anything she has ever released before. If anything, Solar Power is the polar opposite to Melodrama. But that isn’t a bad thing at all.
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