FEATURE:
My Five Favourite Tracks of 2021
Lorde – Solar Power
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I was not aware until recently…
PHOTO CREDIT: Ophelia Mikkelson Jones
that Clairo and Phoebe Bridgers provided backing vocals on Lorde’s Solar Power. The title track from her recent third solo album, it is one of my favourite songs of the year. The album itself divided critics. Some felt that the songs had the same tempo and there wasn’t the same sort of variation and quality that we found on 2017’s Melodrama. Even though some were not convinced by Lorde’s much-anticipated album, I really like it. It is a different album from Melodrama, and it definitely has a sense of the New Zealand artist moving on. Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor delivered a brilliant album with Solar Power. Its title track is impossibly uplifting! With some vocal harmonies that put one in mind Primal Scream’s Loaded, it is a song that nods to the past. Sunny, breezy and radiant, there is a lot to admire about the single. Others have compared Solar Power to George Michael Freedom! '90. That is not to say that there is anything unoriginal or derivative about the track. It is one with some nostalgic edges, though Lorde’s voice and lyrics comes through. Before rounding off, there are a couple of articles relating to Solar Power. Stereogum published an article in June where Lorde talked about working on the track alongside producer Jack Antonoff:
“The first song, also called SOLAR POWER and written and produced by myself and Jack, is the first of the rays. It’s about that infectious, flirtatious summer energy that takes hold of us all, come June (or December, if you’re a Southern Hemisphere baby like me but I know that’s literally IMPOSSIBLE for you all to wrap your little heads around so don’t worry about it!!).
I made everything with friends here in New Zealand. My best mate Ophelia took the cover photo, lying on the sand as I leapt over her, both of us laughing. The director who made my first ever music video, Joel, helped me create the videos, building an entire cinematic universe that I can’t wait for you to see. I made something that encapsulates where I’m from — my family, my girlfriends, my outdoors, my constant ruminations, and my unending search for the divine.
There’s SO much more detail to come — a truly comical amount of detail, honestly. You can look to the natural calendar for clues. I’m trying to listen to what’s out there more, and the vibe I got was that you’re ready for this, that you need it. I want this album to be your summer companion, the one you pump on the drive to the beach. The one that lingers on your skin like a tan as the months get cooler again”.
I can remember the excitement when Lorde announced the first single and we were going to get this album. A perfect summer anthem, Solar Power paints some vivid and arresting images: “My cheeks in high color, overripe peaches/No shirt, no shoes, only my features/My boy behind me, he's taking pictures/Lead the boys and girls onto the beaches/Come one, come all, I'll tell you my secrets/I'm kinda like a prettier Jesus”.
This Wikipedia article relates to the critical reaction to Solar Power. Many noted how instantly summery and warming it was:
“Writing for Pitchfork, Anna Gaca called the song a "soft-touch anthem for the [summer] season's simple pleasures", and remarked that it "flipped the script" when compared to the sound of Lorde's 2017 album Melodrama. Rhian Daly of NME gave the song five out of five stars, labelling it a "sun-kissed ode to starting anew", and drew musical comparisons to the Primal Scream album Screamadelica, Joni Mitchell, and Wolf Alice's sound since Visions of a Life. Writers for New Zealand magazine The Spinoff generally praised "Solar Power", with Toby Manhire calling the song an "instant classic", and Stewart Sowman-Lund calling the song "so perfectly summery that it makes me want to drive straight to Devonport (or wherever people swim in Auckland)".
Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine stated that the track "boasts a breezy, psychedelic quality that's perfectly paired for summer drives and beach trips, and an optimistic outlook", while lacking "the urgency of her best songs". Writers for Vulture received the song well, with Justin Curto describing it as "a sunny, acoustic-driven song about a good day on the beach, as the cover art teases" and noted that its bridge is reminiscent of George Michael's "Freedom! '90", and Craig Jenkins called it "slight and fun", though it felt "more like a carefree vacation update than the blockbuster comeback we've been anticipating since the simpler times", while noting similarities to "the psychedelic dance-rock of early '90s UK rave kings like Happy Mondays and Primal Scream".
In a Billboard piece, Jason Lipshutz wrote that "Lorde's new single 'Solar Power' is a playful splash of salt water onto our faces in time for the summer", calling it "deceptively simple", noting the saxophone and trumpet in the mix, and asserted that "Lorde remains one of the best at filling the corners of her songs with personalized knickknacks". In a five star review, Rachel Brodsky of The Independent praised Lorde for "finding a new way to express a universal feeling", comparing it to the Beach Boys' song "Kokomo". Consequence named it "Song of the Week", describing it as "light, bouncy, and nonchalant", emphasising its departure from Lorde's previous works”.
Despite some feeling a little underwhelmed by Solar Power’s title single, it is one of my absolute top choices from 2021. It was the kind of song that we needed Lorde to deliver. I have been listening to it ever since it was released! Able to provide a nice rush of energy and summer vibes, it is one of the highlights from the Solar Power album. It makes me wonder where Lorde is going to go from here. After Solar Power got a mix of reviews, maybe we will hear a new direction and energy from her fourth studio album. Reaching number seventeen in the U.K. single chart, Solar Power is…
A wonderful track.