Rating: 3/5 stars
The first single from Lorde’s highly anticipated sophomore album Melodrama, ‘Green Light,’ begins with the emotional torment and bite of a recently ended relationship.
“She thinks you love the beach/you’re such a damn liar” Lorde spits out. With amplified intensity, Lorde mocks what seems to be her ex’s fear of passion, before shifting to piano chords and technicolour pop.
The chorus of ‘Green Light’ is a bouncy ode to post-heartbreak triumph, “but I hear sounds in my mind/brand new sounds in my mind”, starkly contrasting the heartbroken snarl that the song begins with. Lorde’s new sound is produced by Jack Antonoff from the band Fun, whose influence can be clearly heard throughout.
Although radiant and explosive, the jar of the chorus sounds out of place after the song’s introduction. Or perhaps it is the song’s introduction that sounds out of place against the chorus. Both sides to the song are electrifying, but the disjunction between the two causes the electricity to fizzle out rather than ignite something greater.
It creates a confusing experience for the listener, causing us to question how we’re supposed to feel. Is it a song to listen to while getting ready to go out? Or while crying over a broken heart? Perhaps it is both. Two songs in one, ‘Green Light’ leaves us with the eternal question – sophomore slump or comeback of the year?
