The change in the songs tempo at about the 2:06 approximately mark is a very nice touch and adds mightily to the song. Very exhilarating and intoxicating!
I will say, my initial burst of enthusiasm for the song has worn off a little after multiple listens. I still like it. It's still just the right mood and spirit for me at the moment -- as I've said, such a relief from the darkness of life, and from the pervasive darkness of so much contemporary pop culture. I'm still completely charmed by the "can I kick it...I can can you reach me... you can't" constructions in the two verses. But the song's not really much of an ear worm, and I wish the rhythm would kick in sooner and stay longer.
Channeling Sheryl Crow? From comments by Atlantic magazine critic Spencer Kornhaber who sees post pandemic music returning to a simpler, sparkly 2000s vibe. "It feels like Lorde is attempting a cultural reset. And I kind of support it. It’s a song about emerging from darkness and winter, and just letting yourself enjoy life again. Lorde’s first album was also a cultural reset, back in 2013. She ushered in a more introspective, vulnerable, and somewhat morose mood on the pop charts. People might have expected her to come back and make more music like that. But she said, Screw that. I’m going to make my Sheryl Crow, strummy campfire anthem and tell everyone to lighten up."
I have and enjoy her first 2 albums, and I have no problem with vapid party pop beach songs—the Beach Boys are one of my top groups and I actually listen to Still Cruising and Keeping the Summer Alive on a regular basis. This song, however, is just not very good (yes, I realize those BB albums aren’t very good either). The lyrics are weak, the rhythm is mostly plodding, and the guest singers add nothing to the song. I’ll check out the rest of the songs when the album comes out, but as a lead single, I don’t care for this one.
As with any new release by an established artist, it comes down to how many new fans will be garnered by it and how many old fans will be alienated by it. I thing the timing and the song matter mesh perfectly. Hippie music for the “Post COVID-19 Pandemic”.
Some people can't deal with a woman being comfortable in her own skin and have to project their own insecurities. anyway, the song is nice and breezy, kind of a welcome respite after the last year and a half as someone else pointed out earlier in the thread.
first impression: sympathy for the devil + loaded (primal scream) + faith ➡ freedom'90 (George Michael) also echoes of Haim + last St. Vincent. Not much of a single, could be a good album track though.
Nah, I think it's a more the issue of an artist portraying themselves as one thing for one or two albums, and then doing a complete 180 on their musical style/image. Like when Mumford and Sons decided they weren't potato farmers anymore and wanted to be Coldplay. That turned off a LOT of fans and it didn't help their new material was pretty bad and had nothing to do with what they built a fanbase with. This song is a lot of air and not much else. A catchy chorus and....uhh....there's nothing else to latch onto, earworm-wise in the main part of the song. The whole song seems to go against established Lorde attitude and aesthetic, which was pawned off on the public as "real" music, but now it seems like she's gone full corporate drug store commercial music. It's like we were lied to.
Agree! It’s a complete rip off of the end of George Michael’s “Freedom”, which was a very exhilarating and intoxicating song when it was released in 1990
everything in context… Duran Duran seemed like a breath of fresh air after the previous decade of hairy chested rock dudes putting cucumbers down the front of their pants
Challenging notions of sexuality and body autonomy? Trolling us? Having a laugh? All of the above? I like it. It’s bold and brash and doesn’t care what we think.
So showing your ass has somehow turned into the noble act of “challenging notions of sexuality and body autonomy” - if this was a butt on a 80’s metal album, would anybody grant the image that kind of “empowerment” sub text? Can’t we just call it what it is? “i’ve been gone for a while and I’m worried that nobody cares anymore. If I show everybody my backside, they’ll start talking about me which is just what I need to get my record some traction” Excuse with me while I go out on my balcony and flash my neighbors my old wrinkly backside. I think their notions of sexuality and body autonomy need to be challenged on this fine Saturday afternoon. Hopefully nobody calls the police
Artists change, they aren't obligated to cater to the fans' perception of who they are. The flip side is that fans aren't obligated to enjoy the changes or go along for the ride, but it's silly to say "I don't like the new Lorde, she's being fake and lied to us about who she is". Of course she's not the same as she was four years ago when she was 20, or on her first album where she was a teenager. It's even sillier to look at a woman wearing beach-appropriate clothing, moving and dancing around freely and comfortably in her own music video, and reduce her to being a "sex kitten". It's not like she's grinding on people in a dominatrix outfit, and even if she was, it still wouldn't be deserving of sexist comments, because she has a right to express that part of herself. If people are uncomfortable with it, they're welcome to move on and enjoy other artists without being weird and condescending.
Agreed. I'm not offended, just think it undermines her craft. Of course they'll spin it. Same old story....
If you honestly feel betrayed by an artist showing a bare part of her body on a single cover, not even in an overtly sexual context, it says a lot more about you than the artist. This thread feels like it's 2 steps away from someone saying "shame on that hussy for showing bare skin instead of dressing modestly and wowing us with her talent and intellect". That's embarrassing.
Did I say I feel betrayed? Best not to assume. I won't lose a wink of sleep. But that's my opinion. You have yours, done. But it takes a lot of mental gymnastics to think that isn't sexual. IMHO.
Yeah it’s a weird old world, somebody sticks their butt in your face and wouldn’t you know it, people might have questions about your motivations. Especially when your income is derived from getting people to pay attention to you (SHOW business). Not to mention that Madonna did this on a pro Jedi level like 35 years ago
Marketing works. Maybe some real fans here, not my case, but it is "in your face" cover art. Obviously, it attracts attention.
