Lorde’s new album Virgin steps into fresh territory, carrying a house-influenced production style that gives off serious Charli XCX energy. That connection makes sense – Lorde performed with Charli at Coachella earlier this year, and the influence shows. Tracks like the opener, Hammer, have a looser, beat-driven feel that’s different from Lorde’s past work. The production comes on strong and almost overshadows the emotional heart of the album… but not quite. She still finds a way to cut through the noise with clarity and reflection.
The lead single, What Was That, perfectly captures the chaos of a night that leaves you speechless – the kind of whirlwind that ends with you sitting in silence thinking, “What the f*** was that?” It’s messy and confusing, but also honest in a way that only Lorde can pull off. That energy runs through the rest of Virgin, which plays like a personal reckoning with love, lust, and what happens when your first real heartbreak hits harder than expected.
In many ways, Virgin feels like an ode to her younger self – to first late nights, first heartbreaks, and the realization that you wished away childhood without knowing what was coming next.The title hints at a beginning, but this album is about what happens after love, after heartbreak, after becoming someone new. There’s a quiet grief in understanding how little you knew back then, and a strange comfort in knowing how far you’ve come. Lorde doesn’t just reflect with regret – there’s real compassion in how she looks back. You can feel her forgiving her younger self. Maybe even admiring her.
That vulnerability shows up visually too. The album cover is an actual X-ray of Lorde’s torso. You can make out the zipper of her jeans, the bones in her hips, even the outline of her IUD. It’s raw, it’s exposed, and it mirrors the spirit of the music inside. Virgin is Lorde at her most transparent. Some listeners might say it’s too much or too personal – but that’s exactly what makes it powerful. We were all young and dumb at some point. Not all of us recognize it. Lorde not only does – she turns it into art.