After all the hints, rumors, and anticipation, Lorde’s new track “Green Light” has arrived! The song is her first non-movie-soundtrack-single in almost four years, so needless to say, expectations were high. “Green Light” sees the Kiwi star move in a more energetic dance/pop direction, something she’s previously called a “brand new sounds in my mind.” Although she doesn’t stray too far from pet subjects, lines like “Those great whites, they have big teeth, Hope they bite you,” suggest a more direct, grown up affair.
While Pure Heroine was largely a meditation on growing up, her upcoming sophomore album Melodrama promises to be firmly anchored in the adult world. From the clip that follows her from dancing in a club to dancing on a car, it’s clear she’s no longer the conduit for that nice goth girl from your high school. Speaking to Apple Music, she admitted the song was about heartbreak: “it’s not something that I really am used to writing about … It was my first major heartbreak. And the song is really about those moments kind of immediately after your life changes and about all the silly little things that you gravitate towards.”
READ: How Lorde’s first album captured suburban dreams and realistic teenage life
Not that this dip into classic pop tropes feels in any way inauthentic; this is still an anthem for brave broken hearts, it’s just a soundtrack to dancing until you feel better as opposed to stoically weeping in front of the mirror. In fact, the singer reflected, “I was like, ‘how come this thing is coming out so joyous sounding?’ And I realized this is that drunk girl at the party dancing around crying about her ex-boyfriend who everyone thinks is a mess. That’s her tonight and tomorrow she starts to rebuild. And that’s the song for me.”
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Text Wendy Syfret