Listened to the album about 3-4 times today and it's lowkey growing on me. I would still say it's her weakest (sorry, I'm a proud Solar Power stan) but it's still solid. Overall I'd say side A is much stronger except for Man Of The Year which kills the whole vibe and the entirety of side B is barely enough to wash away its ghastly memory 

 

Hammer is a fantastic opener and sets the stage perfectly, although it's really Shapeshifter where things get going, peaking with Current Affairs (one of the most exciting songs lyrically in her discography). They were my top 3 on first listen and further spins only solidified their holy trinity status

trying, magnetic and river?

 

yasss ella give us the deluxe later this year

1 hour ago, bielneira said:

I mean, if you had expectations without hearing anything, you are coming from somewhere, which by your comment was probably Pure Heroine/Melodrama vibes. If you followed Lorde's comments about the album all this time and listened to the singles, you shouldn't be expecting what you were lol sometimes i feel like you guys set yourselves up without even knowing

What are you even talking about? The vibes on all three previous albums are all different yet the songs on all three albums were captivating, melodramatic, melancholic in different ways. Therefor i expected the same on this album. Unfortunately i don't get the feelings which i usually get listening to Lorde. 

6 minutes ago, RaFanatic said:

What are you even talking about? The vibes on all three previous albums are all different yet the songs on all three albums were captivating, melodramatic, melancholic in different ways. Therefor i expected the same on this album. Unfortunately i don't get the feelings which i usually get listening to Lorde. 

And this one has all of those as well. If you didn't click with it, it's fine. But it's literally there.

Edited June 27, 20251 yr by bielneira

I'll probably be sobbing when she performs Current Affairs on the tour

I will never trust anyone who doesn't like "Clearblue"

AN UNDERRATED MASTERPIECE 

The decision to make Man Of The Year a single feels even more perplexing with the album

 

I feel like the label only greenlit its single release because of the video she had in mind for it and the buzzy gender discussion. Because otherwise… why. As a song it's just painfully limp on this album.

12 minutes ago, bielneira said:

And this one has all of those as well. If you didn't click with it, it's fine. But it's literally there.

It's their opinion sis  

2 minutes ago, HeavyMetalAura said:

It's their opinion sis  

And mine about his opinion 

album is pretty good! production is really great (see when you abandon Hack...)

 

i think i still need time with it. the last three tracks are real standouts tho!

11 minutes ago, Beyonnaise said:

The decision to make Man Of The Year a single feels even more perplexing with the album

 

I feel like the label only greenlit its single release because of the video she had in mind for it and the buzzy gender discussion. Because otherwise… why. As a song it's just painfully limp on this album.

Yep. She should've went with Broken Glass and the ED angle. Much better song, actually single-worthy.

Melodrama > Pure Heroine > Virgin > Solar Power

 

as of right now.

 

7 hours ago, FallenFroot said:

"Virgin" is receiving rave reviews in Germany already:

 

https://laut.de/Lorde/Alben/Virgin-125448  (5/5)

https://www.musikexpress.de/reviews/lorde-virgin/  (5.5/6 and album of the week)
https://thecircle.de/blogs/popkultur/like-a-virgin-lorde-wird-zur-androgynen-pop-gottheit (no score, but they call her androgynous pop goddess)

 

Good to see. Most of the European reviews won't count for Metacritc or AOTY, but hopefully when acclaimedmusic.net do their end year aggregate, those publications will remember her in their best of 2025 lists.

Virgin > Melodrama > Pure Heroine > Solar Power 

the europeans love this album 

its

 

Melo

Virgin

Pure Heroine

Solar Power

 

SHE'S TEASING THE DELUXE ON INSTAGRAM

5 hours ago, Mezzanine said:

Really curious to see @RideOrDie break their silence and share their thoughts on the album with the rest of us

 

 

 

Spoiler

favourite daughter, shapeshifter and broken glass are nice

the rest... meh

if she could see me now gives me so much justin timberlake/timbaland vibes i haven't seen anyone mention it yet

solar panels was better but i don't think y'all are ready for that conversation yet

 

48 minutes ago, Beyonnaise said:

The decision to make Man Of The Year a single feels even more perplexing with the album

 

I feel like the label only greenlit its single release because of the video she had in mind for it and the buzzy gender discussion. Because otherwise… why. As a song it's just painfully limp on this album.

MOTY is actually one of my favourites on the album but it kind of sticks out like a sore thumb. 
 

I wouldn't have made it a single and I probably would've moved it to the last or second last track on the album.

all of current affairs discourse being about the pamela tape lyrics instead of how good the song is….can we just not be woke for 5 minutes?

 

If She Could See Me Now would be the lead single... we claiming Mood Ring should be Solar Power lead flashbacks

 

I still can't decide between Melodrama or Virgin, so my final ranking will stay like this:

1. Melodrama / Virgin
3. Solar Power
4. Pure Heroine

 

I wanna punch the mirror

To make her see that this won't last
It might be months of bad luck
But what if it's just broken glass?

I spent my summer getting lost in math
Making weight took all I had
Won't outrun it if you don't hit back
It's just a broken glass

1 hour ago, Beyonnaise said:

The decision to make Man Of The Year a single feels even more perplexing with the album

 

I feel like the label only greenlit its single release because of the video she had in mind for it and the buzzy gender discussion. Because otherwise… why. As a song it's just painfully limp on this album.

MOTY is actually growing on me the most just because I always let it play when I go back to Shapeshifter 

6 minutes ago, bielneira said:

I still can't decide between Melodrama or Virgin, so my final ranking will stay like this:

1. Melodrama / Virgin
3. Solar Power
4. Pure Heroine

 

pure heroine at the bottom…taste this is my exact ranking rn