Pure Heroine
Pure Heroine is the debut studio album by New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde. It was released on 27 September 2013 by Universal, Lava, and Republic Records. After several unsuccessful sessions with songwriters, Lorde was paired with Joel Little by A&R representative Scott Maclachlan, who assisted with the album's production. Recording took place at Golden Age Studios in Auckland. Pure Heroine has been described as an electronica, electropop, and dream pop album with minimalist production, deep bass and programmed beats.
Pure Heroine received generally positive reviews from music critics, many of whom praised its songwriting, production, and Lorde's vocal performance. It appeared on several year-end critics' lists, and was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. The album deals with themes of youth and critiques mainstream culture, exploring materialism, fame, consumer culture and social status. Pure Heroine has been noted for its influence on modern pop music.
Lorde released the album's lead single, "Royals", to critical and commercial success; it was followed by "Tennis Court", "Team" and "Glory and Gore". The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 129,000 album-equivalent units, and topped the charts in Australia and New Zealand. Pure Heroine was one of 2014's best-selling albums. It was certified nine-times platinum in New Zealand, platinum in the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, four-times platinum in Australia, and six-times platinum in Canada and by the Recording Industry Association of America, selling more than 5 million copies worldwide.
Background and development
Since she was 14 years old, Lorde worked with Universal to develop her sound and artistic vision. She was signed to Universal by her manager, Scott Maclachlan, at age 13 and was paired with a succession of songwriters in unsuccessful attempts to develop her own music. Maclachlan told HitQuarters, "Fundamentally I think she understood that she was going to write her own music but would need someone to help with the production side of it." Lorde began writing songs on guitar at the age of "13 or 14". She was eventually paired with New Zealand writer and producer Joel Little in December 2011, and their working relationship clicked almost immediately. Lorde's debut extended play was praised by music critics, who compared the EP to work by other female alternative pop artists such as Sky Ferreira, Florence and the Machine, Lana Del Rey, and Grimes. It reached number one in New Zealand, number two in Australia, where it was certified five times platinum for shipments of 350,000 copies, and number twenty-three on the US Billboard 200.Before beginning work on Pure Heroine, Lorde said that she intended her debut album to be a "cohesive" work. Like The Love Club EP, Pure Heroine was recorded with producer Joel Little at Golden Age Studios, a small studio without expensive technology, in Auckland, and was completed in less than a year. Initially, Lorde and Little played demos to A&R Scott Maclachlan in which they discussed songs, exchanged comments and changed aspects of the songs. She later showed the lyrics to James Lowe, her boyfriend at the time, saying that sharing things with him inspired her to write most of the album. Recording of the album was overseen by Lorde and Little, and was described by Maclachlan as a fairly-short process; most of what Lorde played for him ended up on the album. Lorde wanted to write her own music, and the album's content was co-written with Little. Ten songs were included in the album's final track listing, with seven or eight tracks not making the cut. Lorde and Maclachlan decided to keep the final track listing at ten to avoid "filler material."
Music and lyrics
Lorde's vocals on Pure Heroine have been noted for her range and powerful delivery. She said that she felt it essential for her voice to be the album's focus, since she was unfamiliar with playing instruments. The A.V. Club editor Kevin McFarland called the singer's voice the "alpha and omega of her talent.... Her voice isn't booming or overpowering, but rather mystifying and alluring, both floating on its own in a sea of reverb and digital blips and awash in an army of chorused overdubs." PopMatterss Evan Sawdey described Lorde's vocals as being "unique and powerfully intriguing", while Billboard noted her vocals for being "smoky and restrained".The album is built around Little's production, which incorporates deep bass, loops, and programmed beats. During its recording, Lorde said that she "didn't really have a specific sound in mind". She cited James Blake and minimalist music as the main inspirations for Pure Heroine. The album's song structures were influenced by hip hop, electronic and pop music as the singer listened to those genres to develop a "real taste" of the direction the production would follow. Several publications noted its minimalist production, and compared its arrangements to singers such as Robyn and Santigold. Pure Heroine has been described by critics as an electronica, dream pop, and electropop album.
The album deals with themes of youth, and critiques mainstream culture, exploring materialism, fame, consumer culture, and social status. Classic teen pop themes such as social anxiety, romance, and "adolescent aggrievance and angst" are also present on the album. According to NME, its lyrics indicate that Lorde is "bored". In an interview with the magazine, she said that she used words of inclusion throughout the album. The singer's lyrics detail "the mundanity of teenage life" and celebrate the "often ignored intelligence of the next generation." Lorde also uses metaphors involving teeth, describing the "Hollywood smile", which several publications related to social class structures and economic inequality. In an analysis piece from i-D, writer Wendy Syfret states that Pure Heroine presented suburban dreams and a realistic teenage life, saying the record is "perhaps the most direct and eloquent statement about the eternal teen juxtaposition of wanting it all... but knowing deep down that to leave this stage is to make an exit you can never undo."
Songs
Tracks 1–5
The album's opening track, "Tennis Court", addresses Lorde's new fame and criticises the "high life." Described by critics as a downtempo hip hop and EDM-influenced alternative pop, art pop and electropop song, it uses synthesisers and electronic pulses in its arrangement. Little and Lorde first wrote the music and beat, and the lyrics were written later. "400 Lux", named for the brightness of a sunrise or sunset, was interpreted by critics as the album's first love song, with lyrics detailing suburban life. Lipshutz of Billboard described its instrumentation as "over canyon-sized bass and popping percussion".Lorde wrote the lyrics to "Royals" in half an hour and recorded the song within a week during a school break. She was inspired after seeing a photo by Ted Spiegel in the July 1976 issue of National Geographic of Kansas City Royals player George Brett signing baseballs, with his team's name emblazoned across his shirt. Although Lorde was also inspired by historic aristocrats and hip hop-influenced artists such as Jay-Z, Kanye West and Lana Del Rey when writing the song, she criticised their "bullshit" references to "expensive" alcohol and cars. Lorde cited her fear of ageing and a party she threw at her house while her parents were away as the main inspirations behind "Ribs", described by critics as a deep house-influenced electronica and electropop song. "Buzzcut Season", influenced by tropical music, uses a xylophone in its instrumentation. Its lyrics, describing the "ridiculousness of modern life", include themes of refuge and reassurance.
Tracks 6–10
The album's sixth song, "Team", is a hybrid alternative pop and electro-hop song which features synthesiser, bass, and snare drum instrumentation over a handclap-based beat. Written when Lorde was travelling the world, the song was a "tribute to her friends and country". The next song, "Glory and Gore" is a chillwave and hip hop-influenced electropop ballad with pulsing synthesisers. Lorde uses black satire throughout the song to express disdain for the modern emphasis on violence, and compares celebrity culture to gladiatorial combat."Still Sane" is a spare ballad, with lyrics grappling with Lorde's "ambition and fears of how fame will affect her." "White Teeth Teens", influenced by doo-wop music, incorporates military drums with lyrics detailing the differences between the appearance and true character of a white-toothed teen. In a PopMatters analysis, Scott Interrante describes the use of teeth in the song's lyrics as "preppy, popular teens, using their white teeth as their defining characteristic." "A World Alone", the album's closing track, was described as a "dark disco diamond". It begins with a "lonely guitar note" before transitioning into a "roaring dance beat". The song's final line, "Let 'em talk", was cited by critics as a call and response to the album's opening line, "Don't you think that it's boring how people talk?" in "Tennis Court".
Promotion
Lorde posted the album's release date along with its cover art and track listing to her Twitter account on 12 August 2013. The album's release was preceded by an advertising campaign which had the lyrics of her songs displayed on buses and shop windows and faxed to media outlets. On 23 September 2013, "Buzzcut Season" was released as a promotional single in several iTunes Stores in Asia. "Ribs" was subsequently offered as the free single of the week on the iTunes Store during the week of the album's release. An extended version of the album was released on 13 December 2013, featuring "No Better", previously released as a free promotional single, and five tracks from The Love Club EP.To promote the album, Lorde did several performances worldwide. She made her first televised performance in the United States on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, performing "Royals" and "White Teeth Teens". Lorde replaced Frank Ocean, who cancelled due to illness, at the 2013 Splendour in the Grass Festival. In September 2013, Lorde appeared on New Zealand's 3rd Degree and performed on Later... with Jools Holland. Two months later, Lorde performed several songs from the album and her EP on Live with Letterman and at a concert the singer held at the Warsaw Venue in Brooklyn. She further promoted the album by performing "Royals" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on 9 October 2013. The singer also performed "Team" at the 2013 ARIA Awards and opened the 2013 New Zealand Music Awards with "Royals". At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, Lorde performed a stripped-down version of the song.