Lorde – Virgin
Lorde may not break entirely new ground on fourth album Virgin, but its warmth and texture make it consistently compelling and quietly brilliant
Virgin, Lorde’s fourth album, recalls the halcyon days of 2017’s Melodrama but consciously drains the blood from its predecessor once-removed's lushness. Here, Lorde pares back the starkness of her lyricism even further, punctuating with biting introspection and playful audacity; questioning biology or romance on Hammer ('Don’t know if it’s love or if it’s ovulation'), embracing sparse but wan vulnerability on Clearblue, or prompting a double-take with 'you tasted my underwear' on the sonically warmer standout Current Affairs.
The production is deliberately anaemic, with certain compositions unanchored and sparse until midway through; this is exemplified by Shapeshifter, whose arrival of strings in the second verse finally grounds it. Conversely, the glitching synths and stuttering percussion of Hammer and GRWM (a wonky acronym for Grown Woman, apparently) infuse a jagged, high-frequency vitality, marrying early 2010s nostalgia with refreshed inventiveness.
The album’s pop sensibilities are especially pronounced in Favourite Daughter and Broken Glass, both bolstered by producer Jim-E Stack's lean-in to Lorde's hookier, bigger swings – the latter track joyfully evoking Lorde at her uptempo best (see: Perfect Places). Virgin thrives primarily because Lorde remains a genuinely gifted songwriter with a tasteful ear. While it may not break entirely new ground, this album’s embrace of mordant textures and restrained warmth – weaponised on album closer and sonic bath David – cements it as consistently compelling and quietly brilliant.
Listen to: Current Affairs, Broken Glass, David