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Sofia Berg
Ms. Joyner
ENG121
30 September 2013
Pure Heroine
To be considered the biggest female artist in the history of the alternative music industry
is a huge accomplishment. To be considered the biggest artist in the history of the alternative
music industry at the age of sixteen, after having released her first EP a mere ten months earlier,
is almost formidable. Yet listening to her first album, it is easy to understand how Ella Yellich
OConnor, known by the sobriquet Lorde and hailing from Auckland, New Zealand, is deserving
of such a title. Pure Heroine, Lordes LP debut, was released in Australia and New Zealand on
27 September. It is a collection of comparatively minimalist tracks that display Lordes potential
for musical eminence. With a variety of backbeats and restrained vocals, Lorde explores
adolescent angst while subtly ridiculing the gratuitous nature of her contemporaries (see: Miley
Cyrus, Rihanna, Ke$ha). Lordes debut sets her apart as an incredibly competent artist by its
success, originality, and intelligence.
In November 2012, Lorde was still fairly unknown. This changed rapidly when she
released the Love Club EP for free. News of the then-fifteen year old traveled quickly by word
of mouth, and by March 2013 it had garnered over 60,000 downloads. After only ten months,
the five-track EP has gained over 210,000 sales in Australia, 7,500 in her native New Zealand,
and over 60,000 in the United States. According to Billboard, she holds longest record of
number one on the alternative charts by a woman with her track Royals, passing up Alanis
Morssette, Tracy Bonham, and Kate Bush. Pure Heroine, which was released in the US in its

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entirety on 30 September, is already sixth on the iTunes charts and first on the iTunes alternative
charts. Praises of the sixteen-year old have been sung from a number of sources, including a
variety of magazines and artists. On September 6, 2013, Billboard ran a cover story on her,
comparing her to alternative dark-stars of the nineties such as Mazzy Star and Portishead. In
addition, she is frequently compared to the more contemporary Sky Ferreria and Jessie Ware.
The critical reception of the album has reached the general consensus that, yes, Lorde may just
change the face of popular music.
Just as popular music has been focused on the tasteless behavior of certain female stars,
Lordes new album has emerged as a refreshingly restrained retort to what some had feared
would be the future of music and stardom. Instead of joining the already famous (and blatantly
arrogant) youth in pop music, Lorde treats them with derision in both her lyrics and her attitude.
The album starts out with the bass-laden track Tennis Court, which effectively states her
passive attitude towards stardom, saying its a new art form, showing people how little we
care. In the second track on the album, titled 400 Lux, Lorde continues to set herself apart by
commenting on her humble upbringing and her love for these streets on which the houses dont
change. This theme is continued in Team, where Lorde sings We live in cities youll never
see on screen / Not very pretty, but we sure know how to run things. Lorde continues to discuss
her newfound fame on Still Sane and states ironically that all work and no play / Never made
[her] lose it. Her humble approach to music and fame is possibly the fundamental aspect that
sets Lorde apart from her more pretentious contemporaries.
In addition to being a humble approach to stardom, Pure Heroine is an intelligent
approach to adolescence. Generally, not many people (let alone teenagers) would be able to
transition as smoothly between angst, world history, and the apathetic attitude of contemporary

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youth towards current events as Lorde does. She sings about the difficulties of growing up in
Ribs (It feels so crazy, / Getting old) and White Teeth Teens (Ill let you in / On
Something big / I am not a White Teeth Teen) and then alludes to the horrors of war and how
people try to ignore such tragedies in Buzzcut Season. Her love of Elizabethan history is
exemplified in Royals, and in Glory and Gore, she compares celebrities to Gladiators, saying
Glory and gore go hand in hand / Thats why were making headlines / You could try and take
us / But victorys contagious. Lordes music surpasses boundaries of age and even genre and
delivers music with topics and themes that can be appreciated by everyone. The deliberate lyrics,
profound themes, and historical allusions distinguish Pure Heroine as a superbly intelligent
album.
Lorde has not disappointed with her new album. She impressed critics and artists alike
with the Love Club EP, and Pure Heroine is a beacon of hope for those who feared the future of
contemporary music. It is clear that Lorde is fully deserving of her newfound stardom because
of the originality, maturity, and intelligence of her music. Not many people have the ability to
make such beautiful and unique music, and it is clear that Lorde intends on creating it for some
time to come.