Last Tuesday, many adrenaline-rushed New York residents found themselves climbing trees, trash cans, and lampposts in Washington Square Park, for our self-proclaimed “prettier Jesus”, Lorde. After taking a musical hiatus for nearly 4 years, the young icon has returned and with a gift nothing short of perfect. The singer’s newest release “What Was That” while seeming a bit impromptu to outsiders, has been long awaited by fans and Lorde herself. Being her first pop-dance song since her 2017 album “Melodrama” the new single has been met with nothing but approval and praise.  

“What Was That” is the song of the summer before summers even come. It’s a breath of fresh air after being inside for 4 years. While Lorde has always had an instinct for what’s going on in the youthful mind, it still seems to catch fans by surprise when she “does it” yet again. Lorde herself is in the midst of it all at the age of 28 yet she still seems to carry herself and her songs with the same alluring demeanor that she had “when she was 17”. But with so much of the lyrics alluding to past songs and past events, you are left lacking a sense of epiphany that you get from the unbeatable nostalgia from “Ribs”, or the chilling build up in “Green Light”.  

As mentioned in Vogues 2021 interview with the young singer, her narrative theme of choice has frequently been substance based… literally. “Pure Heroine was shaped by alcohol, Melodrama by Mdma, and Solar Power by marijuana.” Will the ecstasy like “high” or the memory of “the best cigarette of her life” be enough to push her upcoming music through the summer or will the high not be as good the second time around.