Lorde, 'Solar Power'

After a four-year drought, Lorde has returned to us, delirious with joy, biting A Tribe Called Quest and indulging in the erotic. A new single, "Solar Power" — the title of which doubles as her forthcoming third studio album — finds the New Zealand singer-songwriter embracing a significantly sunnier state of mind. Guiding the masses to the shore like a beach babe messiah, Lorde's cult of happiness lacks no support; notable for acoustic guitar plucking from co-writer and producer Jack Antonoff, "Solar Power" features Phoebe Bridgers and Clairo on backing vocals. At its percussion-heavy, George Michael-esque climax, the track explodes with transcendental euphoria, a celebration of nature's restorative capacity.

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