Melissa Kacar

"Magnets" lives between two very distinct eras of Lorde 's artistry and continues to stand out as a pivotal bridge between them. It introduced a more mature and darker electronic sound with pop roots, fully encompassing a very specific sense of grit and Hollywood glamour as well. There's vivid lyricism used throughout, with such an addicting hook. She sings about a forbidden love affair and the moral confliction, or lack thereof, that she's experiencing in the process. "Never really felt bad about it, as we drank deep from the lie, 'cause I felt melting magnets, babe the second I saw you through half-shut eyes". Disclosure first collaborated with Lorde at the 2014 BRIT Awards on a live mashup of her song "Royals" with their song "White Noise". From there, they ended up reconnecting shortly after in London as the British electronic duo was finishing up their album,  Caracal,  making it a last minute addition to the track list.  ...

Virgin  is representative of a transformative chapter for Lorde 's artistic evolution. With this album, she explores every facet of her identity with the most raw, unfiltered forms of introspection at the forefront. Themes of femininity, sexuality, body image, and identity are explored in a fully transparent and intimate way. Reemerging only once every four years with new music,  Virgin  feels like a culmination of every chapter in Lorde's life and artistic journey thus far. It's an album that is starkly different from each era that precedes it, yet still honors every version of herself in a way that feels like a retrospective as much as it is an embrace of the person she is still becoming.  She truly bares it all with this music in a way that does come off as if she was trying to also be intentionally divisive with how specific and abrasive so much of it is lyrically. It gives such a clear look into who she is, which is emphasized by the actual x-ray image of her bo...

On "Ribs", Lorde captures the feelings of adolescence in a way like no other has before. She was only 16 years old when this song came out - to have had this level of deep insight and sage wisdom at that age to write a song like this is so remarkable. In many ways it is a bittersweet lament about growing up and becoming an adult, but also not wanting to leave youth behind. "Ribs" was inspired by a crazy house party she, her sister, and their friend threw when her parents were gone. It is what she later referred to as "the kind of party people write books about," at one of her shows. It is filled with so much nostalgia and gives a sense of yearning for the past and fear of the future. "This dream isn't feeling sweet, we're reeling through the midnight streets and I've never felt more alone, it feels so scary, getting old", she sings in the chorus with almost a sense of urgency. It is featured as the fourth track on her 2013 debut album...

"David" by Lorde A day as special as this only comes around once every four years! Lorde finally released her long-awaited fourth album,  Virgin ,   and it's everything I hoped it would be and more. It offers a glimpse into her mind in the most unfiltered, raw way. There are so many songs that I love and feel so connected to, but I was truly speechless after hearing the closing track "David" for the first time. There is something so haunting and cathartic about this song, it is such a powerful way to close this incredible record.  Check out my full review of Virgin by Lorde! "Times Like These" by Addison Rae "Times Like These" is one of the many standout tracks off of Addison's self-titled album , which is overall such a confident and clear debut from one of pop's most exciting new artists. This is one of the most vulnerable and heartbreakingly honest moments of the album, which feels so representative of the greater storyline of Addi...