We know that Lorde is working on her fourth album. The New Zealand singer has been hinting at the follow-up to 2021’s Solar Power for nearly a year, but until Thursday night (July 11), fans hadn’t heard even a snippet of music. That changed dramatically when the 27-year-old singer shared some pictures of herself in the studio and a very brief clip of a new song on her Instagram Story. And by brief, we mean less than two seconds.
It wasn’t much, but it was something. In clips shared by fans, Lorde, wearing a plaid shirt with her hair in pigtails, smiles and bops her head side-to-side to a beat that has a techno-y, dance vibe but no lyrics. The caption to the teaser gave hope: “Will be back in touch.”
Fans were understandably excited about even the smallest hint of new music. Comments on re-posts of the snippet included: “2025 will be THE year,” “LITERALLY WILL CHANGE MY LIFE,” “I’M IN LOVE,” “IM NOT OKAY”.
Last month, Lorde posted a series of cryptic pictures and wrote “use the existing tools wherever possible” alongside a series of images including a copyright symbol, three variations of the letter L, the number four in parentheses, and a recycling logo. “If the tools do not exist you are spiritually obligated to create them,” she added, along with more mysterious images featuring more Ls, another 4, stars, the number 27, a Tarot card, the infinity symbol, a shark, a rabbit, and an Egyptian figure.
Lorde’s fourth album will change my life
— Amelia (@ameliabiIity) July 12, 2024
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At the time, she didn’t offer any further explanation, and the accompanying images didn’t clarify their meaning either. The photos included a snap of her in an all-black outfit staring over a balcony, then spitting off that balcony, holding a pill with the word “spit” printed on it, a shot of a nightstand with a pile of books and an ashtray filled with gold jewelry, and a close-up of her at a swimming pool.
In December, she posted another puzzling snap — since deleted — where she sat in striped pajamas listening to something, captioned, “listening to myself.” She also teased what seemed to be a few new songs during a headlining gig at the Boardmasters Festival in the U.K. in 2023, with fans guessing that the tracks were titled “Silver Moon” and “Invisible Ink.”
