“Virgin” by Lorde, review

Wow. Lorde is back, everyone.

I mean, she returned from her 4-year cycle of rebirth, yes, but also she feels more at tune with herself on Virgin, her newest musical release.

Her 2021 album, Solar Power, was a bold experiment. Almost entirely acoustic, with reflections that, aside from the gem “Stoned at the Nail Salon”, felt too detached from who Lorde really was.

Yet the nuances and experimentation and the Melodrama (if you know, you know) are on full steam in her fourth album. The synths and the electronics returned, but it feels as naked lyrically as her predecessor was sonically. The result is something disjointed and compelling. The body moving while the mind is rambling, taking the essential lessons of her pal Charli XCX on the brilliant Brat. 

Take the ecstatic “Hammer” as an example. The girl’s on fire, spitting lines “don’t know if it’s love or if it’s ovulation” like it was nothing. What goes along these descriptions of lust and city life is a thumping beat which explodes on the vibrant and relatable chorus: “I’m ready to feel like I don’t have the answers”.

Identity is key in this album. You can see it clearly on songs like “Shapeshifter” (changing herself to please her lovers), “Man of the Year” (finding herself and being scared of being loved as she—or he/they?—is) and “GRWM” (not knowing who she is or who she wants to be but being okay with the uncertainty). But there’s also songs about holding the darkness tight, such as single “What Was That?” (losing yourself in someone and missing you and them because of who you were with them),“Favourite Daughter” (being and overachiever to please, your parents or your own toxic perfectionism), and “Broken Glass” (coming to terms with body dysmorphia and an eating disorder). The album ends in darkness, with Lorde questioning if she’ll ever find love again on “David”. 

It provides no easy answers because Lorde is a messy human being, just like the rest of us. And instead of pretending she has it all figured out, so proclaims to be scared, frustrated, sad, and free. This is her grossest, messiest and most vulnerable album yet. And it’s all the better for it.