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Solar Power (song)

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"Solar Power"
Single by Lorde
from the album Solar Power
Written2019–20
Released11 June 2021 (2021-06-11)
Recorded2020
Genre
Length3:12
LabelUniversal
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Lorde
  • Jack Antonoff
Lorde singles chronology
"Homemade Dynamite (Remix)"
(2017) 		"Solar Power"
(2021) 		"Stoned at the Nail Salon"
(2021)
Music video
"Solar Power" on YouTube

"Solar Power" is a song by New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde, released on 11 June 2021 as the lead single from her third studio album of the same name. The song was written and produced by Lorde and Jack Antonoff and released to radio stations by Universal. Inspired by the 1990 single "Loaded" by Scottish band Primal Scream, "Solar Power" is an indie folk, psychedelia, and sunshine pop song, marking a departure from Lorde's electronic and melancholia music styles. The lyrics of the song depict summer escapism set on a beach.

The song received positive reviews from music critics, who praised the song's lightweight sound as well as its experimental sound. It earned the NME award for Best Song in the World and a nomination for Single of the Year at the Aotearoa Music Awards. The song peaked inside the top 20 in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom and received gold certification from the Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ) and silver in British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

Lorde and Joel Kefali directed the music video for "Solar Power", which shows Lorde on a beach with other beachgoers as a cult leader. Cinematography took place at Waiheke Island in New Zealand. She performed "Solar Power" at the Late Show with Stephen Colbert and at several music festivals. It was included in the set list for the Solar Power Tour (2022–23). The song was translated into the Māori language by Hēmi Kelly, and was performed and released by Lorde as "Te Ao Mārama / Solar Power", the second track from her EP Te Ao Mārama, released on 9 September 2021.

Background and release

[edit]
"Solar Power" was inspired by "Loaded", a 1990 song from Scottish band Primal Scream (lead singer Bobby Gillespie pictured)

After concluding the Melodrama World Tour in November 2018, Lorde retreated from the spotlight and began learning how to play the piano for her then upcoming record.[1] The following year, Lorde began spending time with her friend, American scriptwriter Cazzie David, at a vacation home owned by American comedian Larry David in Martha’s Vineyard off the coast in Massachusetts.[2] The song was conceived during a summer day after the singer spent time swimming in the area. She wrote the track on a Yamaha DX keyboard and later brought the demo to American producer Jack Antonoff, who assisted in the writing and production of her previous record, for further development.[3] Lorde would continue work on the song traveling in between New York and New Zealand.[4]

While writing the song, Lorde initially associated the melody of “Solar Power” to the 2000 song “Rock DJ” by British singer Robbie Williams.[3] She later decided to conceptualise the song in a summer setting, which she did so by opening the windows in the studio during summertime. She also incorporated cicadas in the production of the song, in an effort to capture her perception of a New Zealand summer.[3] The singer stated that the 1990 song “Loaded” by Scottish band Primal Scream influenced “Solar Power”. In an interview with New Zealand radio DJ Zane Lowe for Apple Music 1, Lorde stated that she communicated with the band’s frontman, Scottish singer Bobby Gillespie, who cleared the song and told her, “These things happen, you caught a vibe that we caught years ago.”[3]

Lorde was announced as the headliner for Primavera Sound 2022 on May 2021, with an announcement from the festival, stating that the singer would "emerge from her retirement with her third album".[5] On 7 June 2021, Lorde updated her website with the artwork of the single with a message at the bottom of the page, stating: "Arriving in 2021... Patience is a virtue".[6] On 10 June 2021, "Solar Power" was released erroneously on several streaming sites, including Apple Music, Tidal, and YouTube, for hours before being promptly removed.[7] The song was officially released on 11 June 2021 to coincide with the solar eclipse.[8] It was originally scheduled for release on 21 June 2021, during the summer solstice.[9]

Composition and recording

[edit]

"Solar Power" has been described as a guitar-led indie folk,[10] pop,[11] psychedelic,[12] and sunshine pop song.[13] Lorde wrote and produced "Solar Power" with Jack Antonoff, with whom she had previously worked on Melodrama (2017). For their part, Malay provided additional production; Chris Gehringer handled the mastering and Will Quinnell acted as assistant. Mark "Spike" Stent did the mix with the help of Matt Wolach; Matt Chamberlain worked on the programming and played the drums. Antonoff also performed on various instruments: acoustic guitar, electric bass, twelve-string guitar, percussion, and drums; while Cole Kamen-Green participated in the trumpet, Evan Smith with the saxophone, and the artists Phoebe Bridgers and Clairo in the choirs.[14] Lorde began writing the song in July 2019 while in Dukes County, Massachusetts; subsequently, she moved to New York City where she shared the first advances with Antonoff and expressed her desire to incorporate characteristic sounds of the music of the 2000s. The songwriting process took around six to eight months and ended once the chorus was devised.[4]

Artwork

[edit]

The cover image was photographed by Lorde's friend Ophelia, showing Lorde's buttocks.[15] The cover art was released on Lorde's official website and the official Instagram account of her frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff on 7 June 2021, and was widely shared on social media. However, due to a large scale DMCA takedown, many Twitter accounts sharing the cover were locked for several hours.[16] The photo quickly went viral online. Lorde responded that, "It's a specific experience thinking about everyone in your life seeing your butt. I have no regrets. I love this cover and am happy for this to be how people see my butt."[17] There is another version of the cover art, which obscures Lorde's butt with sunlight. This obscured version was shown to Spotify users in Japan, users of China's top music streaming platforms like NetEase Cloud Music and QQ Music, Apple Music users in mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.[18]

Critical reception

[edit]

Writing for Pitchfork, Anna Gaca called the song a "soft-touch anthem for the [summer] season's simple pleasures", and remarked that it "flipped the script" when compared to the sound of Lorde's 2017 album Melodrama.[19] Rhian Daly of NME gave the song five out of five stars, labelling it a "sun-kissed ode to starting anew", and drew musical comparisons to the Primal Scream album Screamadelica, Joni Mitchell, and Wolf Alice's sound since Visions of a Life.[20] Writers for New Zealand magazine The Spinoff generally praised "Solar Power", with Toby Manhire calling the song an "instant classic", and Stewart Sowman-Lund calling the song "so perfectly summery that it makes me want to drive straight to Devonport (or wherever people swim in Auckland)".[21]

Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine stated that the track "boasts a breezy, psychedelic quality that's perfectly paired for summer drives and beach trips, and an optimistic outlook", while lacking "the urgency of her best songs".[22] Writers for Vulture received the song well, with Justin Curto describing it as "a sunny, acoustic-driven song about a good day on the beach, as the cover art teases" and noted that its bridge is reminiscent of George Michael's "Freedom! '90",[23] and Craig Jenkins called it "slight and fun", though it felt "more like a carefree vacation update than the blockbuster comeback we've been anticipating since the simpler times", while noting similarities to "the psychedelic dance-rock of early '90s UK rave kings like Happy Mondays and Primal Scream".[24]

In a Billboard piece, Jason Lipshutz wrote that "Lorde's new single 'Solar Power' is a playful splash of salt water onto our faces in time for the summer", calling it "deceptively simple", noting the saxophone and trumpet in the mix, and asserted that "Lorde remains one of the best at filling the corners of her songs with personalized knickknacks".[25] In a five star review, Rachel Brodsky of The Independent praised Lorde for "finding a new way to express a universal feeling", comparing it to the Beach Boys' song "Kokomo".[26] Consequence named it "Song of the Week", describing it as "light, bouncy, and nonchalant", emphasising its departure from Lorde's previous works.[27]

Music video

[edit]
A frame from the music video of "Solar Power", where Lorde (centre) in a two-piece yellow set, stands behinds a group of background actors on a beach

The music video for "Solar Power" was released on 11 June 2021, directed by Lorde and Joel Kefali, which "posits Lorde almost as the leader of a happy-go-lucky, hippie solstice cult — almost a benign, yassified [sic] version of Midsommar".[28] Stewart Sowman-Lund of The Spinoff also noted a similar connection, writing that "the music video is like if Midsommar was shot in New Zealand".[21] Lorde told Triple J that "we built literally basically a universe on a secret beach. The first video is me introducing you to the world of the album and the videos, I play a kooky tour guide almost". In one scene Lorde takes a hit from a bong made out of a plant root to show her support of cannabis use.[29] The music video was met with a mixed reception from critics.[30]

Filming location

[edit]

With a presumption that the video was filmed in New Zealand, Newshub claimed that the location of the music video was Cactus Bay on Waiheke Island, guessing that the landmass in the distance was the Coromandel Peninsula, and presuming that a cargo ship in the background placed the video's location north of Auckland.[31] The chair of the Waiheke Local Board, Cath Handley, also claimed that the location of the music video was Cactus Bay, which she called a "beautiful beach", but that she hoped that the music video "doesn’t hurdle huge numbers of people towards Waiheke".[32] While not disclosing the location of the beach, in an interview with Jesse Mulligan of The Project, Lorde asked people not to "go and desecrate any beaches with selfie sticks or anything" when asked about where the video was filmed.[33]

Credits and personnel

[edit]

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[57] Platinum 40,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[58] Gold 15,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[59] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

[edit]
Release dates and formats for "Solar Power"
Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
Various 11 June 2021
Universal Music New Zealand [60]
Australia
Universal Music Australia [61]
United States 14 June 2021 Triple A radio
[62]
15 June 2021 Alternative radio [63]
Italy 25 June 2021 Contemporary hit radio Universal [64]

Te Ao Mārama / Solar Power

[edit]
"Te Ao Mārama / Solar Power"
Song by Lorde
from the EP Te Ao Mārama
LanguageMāori
Length3:11
LabelUniversal
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Lorde
  • Jack Antonoff
Lyric video
"Te Ao Mārama / Solar Power" on YouTube

"Te Ao Mārama / Solar Power" is a song recorded by New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde. It is the second track from her Te Ao Mārama EP, and is performed fully in the Māori language. "Te Ao Mārama" translates to "world of light" in Māori, which is both a reference to the title of Solar Power, and the phrase "mai te pō ki te ao mārama", which Leonie Hayden of The Spinoff called "the transition from night to the enlightened world that comprises part of the Māori creation narrative (similar to Adam and Eve's apple, but from the point of view that knowledge is a good thing)".[65]

The song was translated into Māori by Hēmi Kelly, who said of the song, "I love the warmth of summer so it was easy for me to connect with the lyrics. It talks about leaving your worries behind and moving into a positive space. That reminded me of the transition in our creation narratives of moving from darkness, te pō, into the world of light, te ao mārama. That’s a transition we continually navigate throughout our lives."[66]

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for "Te Ao Mārama / Solar Power"
Chart (2021) Peak
position
New Zealand Te Reo Māori Singles (RMNZ)[67] 5

Year-end charts

[edit]
2021 year-end chart performance for "Te Ao Mārama / Solar Power"
Chart (2021) Position
New Zealand Te Reo Māori (Recorded Music NZ)[68] 10

References

[edit]
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