I first came across Lorde on TV. She's seemingly become a superstar overnight and I wanted to see why. Pure Heroine is her debut album, and it certainly matches the hype. It's an effortlessly minimalistic electro-pop record, emphasized by Lorde's confident and mature vocal style. It appears to find the right blend of balance and creativity, delivered with a spacious and atmospheric touch. There's no airbrushed pop here - just great powerful songwriting.
One standout highlight from the album is 'Royals', an unbelievably sparse track containing just vocals, the odd beat and a short bassline. There's a great rhythm shift in the vocals in the bridge, and sets up a great chorus complete with emphatically dazzling harmonies. 'Buzzcoat Season' has a great subtle backing that provides great contrast to the chorus, which itself is quite memorable. 'Glory And Gore' is beautifully arranged, with the vocals acting out a sort of call-and-response style, and the electronic backing giving lots of power but not overpowering the vocals.
One thing that's lacking with this album is that there isn't more tracks like 'Royals'. Basically what I'm getting at is that there could be a bit more invention in the arrangement. Those clever little rhythm changes and harmonies could be more prevalent in some of the other tracks, but I suppose that is nit-picking.
One of the most impressive qualities of Lorde is that she sounds nothing like any other female popstar. She's developed her own effective and distinct style at a very young age, and if she's this good at 16 think how good she'll be in a few years time.
Rating - 9/10
https://myspace.com/lordeofficialmusic/music/album/pure-heroine-19225641
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