What were you doing when you were sixteen? If you were me, you were a newly licensed driver, cruising around in your Plymouth Neon listening to Weezer, trying to get by in high school. If you are Ella Yelich-O’Connor, you were releasing a gorgeous tribute to youth’s triumphs and tribulations. Makes all of our youthful efforts pale in comparison.
Known as her stage name Lorde, “Pure Heroine” is the answer to all of our adolescent musings. With subjects ranging from boys to the media’s obsession with violence, Lorde’s first foray into music feels as if it was written by a 30 year old, disillusioned with life, but still hanging out in her favorite English teacher’s homeroom. The lyrics are mature for a songwriter who is discussing not having enough money to make it home from a party.
All the songs on the album shine with their own light. The music tends to border on sparse beats and haunting harmonies like in the song that put her on the map, “Royals”, to absolute sonic bliss in one of the best tracks on the album, “Glory and Gore”. Ranging from hip hop, electro-pop, sad-core and even just plain pop, the album manages to shove everything together like a cornucopia of sound. And with Thanksgiving just around the corner, you now can count this record as something to be thankful for.
It’ll be interesting to see what kind of accolades this fantastic album will receive in the next few months. I can say without a doubt it will definitely be on every music blog’s top ten list and I would be surprised if Lorde wouldn’t be nominated for a “Best New Artist” or “Album of the Year” Grammy, but that’s just me. My only negative feedback is that Lorde didn’t include the impossibly catchy “The Love Club” from her EP. Other than that, no other major complaints, this gets a 9/10.
Best Tracks: “Glory and Gore”, “A World Alone” and “Tennis Court”
