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Writer in the Dark

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"Writer in the Dark"
Song

"Writer in the Dark" is a song recorded by New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde for her second album Melodrama (2017). Lorde co-wrote and co-produced the track with Jack Antonoff. It is a piano ballad with sparse production and an outro. The song was inspired after Lorde woke up late one night with a stranger; its lyrics are Lorde's lament to an ex-lover, in which she says she will always love him but she also needs to move her life forwards.

The song received acclaim from music critics, many of whom commended its songwriting and compared it to that of Taylor Swift and Lorde's vocals to Kate Bush's register. Lorde performed "Writer in the Dark" and six other songs as part of a re-imagined Vevo song series at Electric Lady Studios, where she recorded the song. "Writer in the Dark" was part of the set list of her Melodrama World Tour (2017–2018).

Background and development

In an exclusive podcast interview with The Spinoff, Lorde stated that she wrote "Writer in the Dark" from the perspective of "something being finished, but still feeling like I had something I wanted to say".[1] She was also inspired to write the lyric, "Bet you rue the day you kissed a writer in the dark" after she woke late on night in a bed she was sharing with a stranger. In a separate interview, Lorde said "Writer in the Dark" was the last song she recorded that made the final cut of the album. It was also the second song (with "Supercut" being the first track) in which she "was speaking to someone or closing a door". The singer-songwriter said about the songwriting process, "It's interesting when you’re female and you write this confessional, painfully honest music about your life. There’s a lot of guilt associated with that."[1]

According to Lorde, "Writer in the Dark" is her way of saying, "It's what I've always been. It's what I was when you met me. It's what I will continue to be after you leave. That's exactly what was going to happen when you kissed a writer in the dark."[1] She noted that the lyrics of the chorus fluctuate in emotion when she sings the lines, "I am my mother's child, I'll love you 'til my breathing stops / I'll love you 'til you call the cops on me / But in our darkest hours, I stumbled on a secret power". Lorde also said the writing process felt therapeutic and complex. When asked about writing from a traditionalist perspective, Lorde said she felt she made the song unique by implementing words such as "pseudoephedrine", the name of a sympathomimetic drug, which she said would work in a rap song; she enjoyed taking standard forms and putting "spiky bits on them".[1] The singer also compared "Writer in the Dark" and "Liability" (2017) to a rap cadence.[1]

Composition and lyrical interpretation

A zoomed in photograph of a Caucasian woman with dark red hair wearing a light yellow shirt.
Lorde's vocals on "Writer in the Dark" were compared to those of Kate Bush.

"Writer in the Dark" was co-written and co-produced by Lorde (credited under her birth-name Ella Yelich-O'Connor) and Jack Antonoff. It was recorded at Electric Lady Studios in Greenwich Village, New York City.[2] The song is composed in the key of G Major with a walking pace tempo of 72 beats per minute while Lorde's vocals span a range of D3 to D5.[3] It is a piano ballad with sparse instrumentation in its production.[4] Its lyrics are Lorde's lament to an ex-lover, whom she tells she will always love but she also needs to move forward.[5] Paste writer Emily Reily said the song "combines Lorde’s defiance with her most desperate and exposed moments, showing she’ll go pretty damn far for love, but will move on when she chooses".[6]

The song drew comments on Lorde's vocals, which several publications compared to those of English singer Kate Bush.[7][8][9] According to Colin Groundwater from Pretty Much Amazing, Lorde vocals on the line "I love you til you call the cops on me" stretch to a "painfully human falsetto",[10] while Chicago Tribune editor Greg Kot said the singer delivers a "resonant line about obsession" as she finds a "way to tunnel out from the wreckage".[11] Drowned in Sound noted the "jolting shift on ‘Writer in the Dark’ from [Lorde's] usual semi-growl of a delivery to a much more high-pitched warble that is one of a handful of moments on this album to recall Kate Bush".[12] Entertainment Weekly stated that Lorde acknowledges the "trope of the scorned lover" in the song,[13] while No Ripcord said her vocals turn to grief in the lines, "I am my mother's child, I'll love you 'til my breathing stops".[14]

Critical reception

"Writer in the Dark" received critical acclaim from music critics; several publications compared its songwriting to that of Taylor Swift.[15][16] Stuff.co.nz editor Graeme Tuckett called it one of the highlights from the album, saying, "Lorde giving her toughest and least inflected vocal performance in the service of the album's strongest set of lyrics".[17] Alexis Petridis from The Guardian stated that while the song was not the first attempt from a modern female singer-songwriter to channel Kate Bush, "it may well be the first one that doesn’t make you want to die of embarrassment on their behalf – the tune is wonderful, her cracked, raw vocal really affecting".[9] Sharing similar sentiments, Spencer Kornhaber from The Atlantic called the song a "wonderful nightmare of a piano piece" and concludes by stating that Lorde is saying "something that’s been said many times before in song, but she’s still saying it more interestingly than most people".[18] DIY writer Will Richards called the song "flooring, showing her to be one of the most emotionally intelligent pop songwriters around", while NME's Dan Stubbs described it as "deliciously bitter".[19][20] Jon Pareles from The New York Times compared its lyrics to Swift and its aesthetic to Lana Del Rey's, saying it is "sometimes sparse and transparent enough to accompany Lorde’s voice with just a piano note or two".[21]

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Melodrama.[2]

Management

Personnel

  • Lorde – songwriting, vocals, production
  • Jack Antonoff – songwriting, production
  • Brandon Bost – mixing assistance
  • Tom Elmhirst – mixing
  • Randy Merrill – mastering
  • Barry McCready – engineering assistance
  • Seth Paris – engineering assistance
  • Greg Eliason – engineering assistance
  • Laura Sisk – engineering

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Oliver, Henry (19 June 2017). "The Spinoff Exclusive: Lorde explains the backstory behind every song on her new album". The Spinoff. Archived from the original on 23 December 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2017. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b Melodrama (CD). Lorde. United States: Lava/Republic Records. 2017. B0026615-02.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. ^ "Lorde "Writer in the Dark" Sheet Music in G Major (transposable)". musicnotes.com. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  4. ^ Dorsett, Andrew (20 June 2017). "Lorde: Melodrama". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 5 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2018. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ Thompson, Erik (22 June 2017). "An invite to Lorde's anguished party of the damned". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  6. ^ Reily, Emily (26 June 2017). "Lorde: Melodrama Review". Paste. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  7. ^ O'Connor, Roisin (15 June 2017). "Lorde, Melodrama, album review: Unconventional pop that still bangs". The Independent. Archived from the original on 16 June 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Anderson, Stacey (16 June 2017). "Lorde: Melodrama". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 16 June 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ a b Petridis, Alexis (16 June 2017). "Lorde: Melodrama review – a cocky challenge to her pop rivals". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 June 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ Groundwater, Colin (19 June 2017). "Review: Lorde, Melodrama". Pretty Much Amazing. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  11. ^ Kot, Greg (16 June 2017). "Review: Lorde and the 'Melodrama' of innocence lost". The Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 17 March 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2018. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ "Album Review: Lorde – Melodrama". Drowned in Sound. 17 June 2017. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ Feeney, Nolan (16 June 2017). "Lorde Makes Partying Sound Holy on 'Melodrama': EW Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 16 June 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ Marvilli, Joe (21 June 2017). "Lorde: Melodrama - Music Review". No Ripcord. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  15. ^ Jenkins, Craig (18 June 2017). "Lorde's Self-Deprecating Melodrama Is a Stunning Achievement". Vulture. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  16. ^ Willman, Chris (15 June 2017). "Album Review: Lorde Acts Her Age on 'Melodrama'". Variety. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  17. ^ Tuckett, Graeme (16 June 2017). "Review: Lorde's Melodrama: First listen, first reactions". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  18. ^ Kornhaber, Spencer (16 June 2017). "Lorde Is Older but Somehow Less Jaded". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  19. ^ Richards, Will. "Lorde - Melodrama". DIY. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  20. ^ Stubbs, Dan (16 June 2017). "Lorde – 'Melodrama' Album Review". NME. Archived from the original on 16 June 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ Pareles, Jon (16 June 2017). "Lorde Learns She Can't Party Away Her Melancholy on 'Melodrama'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
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