With the release of her new single, “What Was That,” Lorde confirms her return to the music scene.
Since the “Solar Power” era of 2021, there has been relative radio silence from Lorde. In 2024, the world got the chance to once again see her talent, albeit only a small portion, through her collaboration with Charli xcx on “Girl, so confusing,” as well as her tribute to The Talking Heads via a cover of “Take Me to the River.” But on April 24, Lorde provided an early release of the first song on her speculated fourth album.
Immediately upon the debut of “What Was That,” it seemed clear to Lorde fans that despite her brief intermission into folk-pop with her third album, the old Lorde appears to be back. “What Was That” is instrumentally closer to “Melodrama,” with lyrics set to a more alternative beat. However, it isn’t just melodically similar to her second studio album; the specific word usage within the track seems to also point to “Melodrama.” As pointed out by Jason Frank, a Vulture writer, Lorde’s reference to using MDMA (also known as ecstasy or molly) seems to be a not-so-subtle nod to returning to that era, as in an interview with Vogue Lorde had shared that “Melodrama” was inspired by doing MDMA.
It is important to ask if this mention is not only a musical similarity, but also if it is supposed to be a callback to her path as a musician and within her relationships. The first pre-chorus features the repetition of the lyrics, “Oh I’m missing you” coupled with “And all the things we used to do” before going into the chorus, where she discusses doing MDMA. She also references her Coachella debut with lyrics such as “Indio haze, we’re in a sandstorm” and “Since I was seventeen,” which is the age she was during her first performance at the festival. Lorde notes that this era and the events that happened to her within it might persist in her music, as she sings, “But this is staying a while, I know, It might not let me go.” It remains to be seen if the entire album will be reminiscent of only the “Melodrama” era.
Lorde didn’t only bless her fans with a new song, but a music video to go along with it and a live performance in Washington Square Park, an iconic public space in New York City. The music video features raw footage of Lorde traipsing around the city, ending with scenes from the park. Lorde had sent out a message to her fans via text telling them to meet her “in the park” on April 23, as relayed by Rolling Stone. Before Lorde arrived, fans who were already gathered had been dispersed by police. Despite this early disbandment, Lorde arrived to a full crowd, where she danced on a platform and blasted her new single live for the first time. The music video premiered on YouTube on April 24 as well.
The single topped the charts, her first number one since “Royals” in 2013. With this showing, it’s clear that no matter what is next for Lorde, fans will not be disappointed.
