Lorde
Pure Heroine

Today’s charts are full of junk. As much as this statement might be overused, unfortunately, it corresponds to the truth. Yet the album I am about to positively review has certainly done well on the charts (though I’m not particularly interested in that, someone will surely correct me if I’m wrong) confirming the fact that you can't paint everyone with the same brush.

The album I’m talking about is Pure Heroine by the very young New Zealander Lorde, born Ella Maria Lani Yelich-O’Connor (born in 1996, although at first glance, it's not hard to give her 10/15 years more), who has been much talked about for her clashes against various mainstream pop singers, from Taylor Swift to Lana Del Rey.

Close to the world of synth pop, the CD is permeated by electronic sounds and vocal distortions (Team) that might make some people frown, but in my opinion, they blend perfectly with the elegant and at times non-trivial compositional style of the young artist.

The single for which Lorde is well-known, Royals, among the hits of the year, is probably one of the less interesting tracks on the album, but it tends to stand out from radio hits for its simplicity and good arrangement. Among the best tracks on the album are Ribs, a track with dark tones, which finds its strength in the repetitiveness of the chorus. Great tracks are Tennis Court (the lead single), 400 Lux, and Buzzcut Season. White Teeth Teens also deserves a mention, mixing gospel hints with the electronic style characteristic of the artist, and its lyrics are a manifesto of this album:
I'll let you in on something big
I am not a white teeth teen
I tried to join but never did

Teeth (white, gold, etc.) are a recurring metaphor throughout the album and indicate belonging to a specific group. The "white teeth teens" are those who reflect the media's concept of beauty, the always trendy kids, and with ease, Lorde throws in our faces that she doesn’t particularly care to be part of it. She dreamed of getting closer to them (400 Lux), she tried, but she didn't.

In this album, Lorde talks about being a teenager in the 2000s, about how, in the era of social networks and likes, it seems incredibly important to belong to an appreciated group, to conform to media standards. But she also tells us about how she, approaching these standards, instead rejected them recognizing their falsehood. This social critique also has its musical counterpart in Royals, where the singer lists, distancing herself from them, various stereotypes of mainstream music and videos:
Every song's like gold teeth, grey goose, trippin' in the bathroom
Blood stains, ball gowns, trashin' the hotel room[...]
Jet planes, islands, tigers on a gold leash
We don't care, we aren't caught up in your love affair.

In conclusion, although it’s nothing immensely innovative, Pure Heroine is a well-crafted album, with good arrangements, different from chart-topping albums, showing us a girl who doesn’t like to be categorized, who feels a healthy desire for rebellion and seeking her own personality. And if you don't believe this, go ahead and check out her live performances (where she moves like a free spirit!) or her photos (alone or with her boyfriend), and you’ll see we are not talking about the classic and perfect pop diva accompanied by a musclebound and brainless toy boy.

A good debut, hopefully, she won't lose her way as others have.