The artist shared a short 15-second teaser of what could be her first album following the 2021 release of Solar Power.
After removing all content from her social media and website, Lorde utilized this fresh start to hint at what appears to be new music.
On Wednesday, April 9, the artist uploaded a 15-second clip on TikTok, depicting her strolling through Washington Square Park in New York City. The video featured a song that suggests Lorde might be returning to her darker synth-pop origins following the sunshine-inspired sounds of her previous album, Solar Power.
The lyrics are distinctly Lorde—intimate, conversational, and somewhat challenging: “Since I was 17/I gave you everything/Now we wake from a dream/Well baby, what was that?”
It has been nearly four years since Lorde released Solar Power, which came out in August 2021 (and at the time marked her first album since 2017’s highly regarded Melodrama). Fans have been eagerly waiting for new music since at least last summer, when several hints and teasers surfaced online. These included a cryptic message about her new artistic direction, a brief clip of new music, and a post from producer Jim-E Stack suggesting collaboration with Lorde in the studio.
Lorde Collaboration
Since the release of Solar Power, Lorde has put out only a few songs, including a cover of “Take Me to the River” for last year’s Talking Heads tribute album, Everyone’s Getting Involved. Earlier this year, she collaborated with fellow New Zealand singer-songwriter Marlon Williams on his track “Kāhore He Manu E”; this song is featured on Williams’ first album in the Māori language, Te Whare Tīwekaweka, which came out last week.
Most notably, last summer, Lorde contributed to the remix of Charli XCX’s “Girl, So Confusing.” This track— which made it to Number Nine on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Best Songs of 2024—was included in Charli’s deluxe album, Brat, which features three additional songs. The two also performed it live during Charli’s concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City.