August 20, 2021, Lorde released her third studio album, Solar Power. Solar Power 

is a summer album about the beauties of life and nature. The album has 12 tracks, titled The Path, Solar Power, California, Stoned at the Nail Salon, Fallen Fruit, Secrets from a Girl (Who’s Seen it All), The Man with the Axe, Dominoes, Big Star, Leader of a New Regime, Mood Ring and Oceanic Feeling. As a big Lorde fan myself, I was eagerly waiting for the release of this album, and it did not disappoint. 

 I love the genre influences of this album. There is pop, early-2000s, alternative pop and folk songs in Solar Power. The lyrics and production are also impressive, and are the cherry on top of the amazing vocals, voice control and harmonies in Solar Power. One song that sticks out production wise is Oceanic Feeling, a song over six minutes long that has different meanings depending on which part of the song you are on, all connecting to a central theme. The production helps highlight this, with a dreamy and relaxing beat that includes bits of guitar and drums. My favorite part of this song is the ending, where it sounds like it is transitioning into a different song and is a bit distorted. The distortion is not overdone though, and it still is relaxing and dreamy, but sounds different than the beginning and middle of this song. Oceanic Feeling also contains the harmonies, voice control and vocals I mentioned earlier. 

 Although I love this album, there are some noticeable criticisms within it. A good number of the songs would have been better off as interludes, or could have been taken off of the album. These songs are not bad, but do not add much to the album. However, they could have if they were a bit longer, or had more of the elements in them that make Solar Power a great album. But overall, Solar Power is very enjoyable and I would recommend it. If you are familiar with Lorde’s music, it is different from Lorde’s prior albums such as Melodrama, but Solar Power still contains elements from her past albums. It’s the best of both worlds. My personal favorite songs on this album are “Fallen Fruit,” “Solar Power,” “Oceanic Feeling” and “Stoned at the Nail Salon.”