Lorde - Solar Power (2021)

Reason for Listening:
A friend mentioned this was an upcoming new release.

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Released 20210820.
12 songs. 43:09. Solar Power (2021)
12+2 songs. 43:09+07:18. Solar Power (Deluxe) (2021)
Wikipedia

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Notes:
--20210822--
First listen.
When the sound of this first song started coming in, I was definitely surprised by the large departure from her previous sound*
I was then a little distracted by the album cover.
"Solar Power" gives off some vibes of her older sound.
"The Man with the Axe" reminds me of a song called "Dark Water & Stars" by Natural Calamity; at least maybe the general sound at around the three minute mark; it might have to do with the amount of reverb or echo applied

3: "Big Star";
2: "The Path"; "Solar Power"; "Stoned at the Nail Salon"; "Dominoes"; "Mood Ring"; "Oceanic Feeling";
1: "Fallen Fruit"; "Secrets from a Girl (Who's Seen it All)";
0: "California"; "The Man with the Axe"; "Leader of a New Regime";

Summary:
I decided to make a summary after the first listen. While the album retains pop elements, it mostly shifts to folk with simple instrumentation. I didn't really focus on the lyrics and mostly fell into the sound of the tracks. I could totally imagine myself relaxing to this album at the beach - that would be perfect. Though the vibe of the album is such that it would be great for relaxing anywhere, but the beach or oceanside would be extra nice. With that being said, the album doesn't necessarily stand out in any noteworthy way. Perhaps this will change with future listens. Note that originally I thought about giving the album a 4.6 but then I felt a 4.2 would be more in line with my statements (I've previously noted that likely there's a genre element that produces a familiarity which assists with liking an album).

It's possible that some other songs rated a "2" could become my favorite track from this album. But for now I'll list the only song which I gave a "3" as my favorite.

Overall Rating: 4.2/5
Favorite Song: "Big Star"

*At least my limited knowledge of it. According to my last.fm scrobbles, I've yet to listen to either of her first albums in full. In fact 10 distinct tracks prior to today (6 from the first album, 4 from the second), 7 distinct tracks prior to 2021 (3 and 4, respectively), and 3 distinct tracks prior to 2020 (21 scrobbles for "Royals", 14 scrobbles for "Team", and 1 scrobble for "Tennis Court"). In any case, I'll likely give them a listen some time in the near future.

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20210831 Comment:
Unsurprisingly, the album debuted on the chart in the fifth position, behind two other albums I've recently listened to, Planet Her (rank 4) and Sour (rank 1), and one rank ahead of Happier Than Ever.

#5 on the Billboard 200 (Week of 20210904).
Last Week: - | Peak: 5 | Weeks on Chart: 1

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20220511 Comment:
"Secrets from a Girl (Who's Seen it All)" was playing on Spotify and caught my ear. I then watched the music video and thought it was such a charming song. Apparently I rated it a "1" above, but it would now be better than that.