Addicted to Pure Heroine
October 20, 2014 3:06 AM Subscribe
I like Lorde's debut album, Pure Heroine, a lot. Is there an explanation beyond personal preference, from a musical perspective that explains why I find the entire album so compelling? Admittedly, the songs do sound sort of alike, but is there an actual, concrete, musical reason why I find this album so catchy? (I never got very far into theory.) Bonus: Do you know any similar songs or albums?
Best answer: Each song is based on very simple chord progressions, mostly pretty familiar ones. Then the melodies are very simple too, and here's what seems essential to me: the melodies are elegantly crafted to fit the chords. (I don't know in what order she writes the parts; that's just what it sounds like to me.) For instance, the chords in the chorus of "Royals" are something you've heard in many songs before, but each note of the vocal melody is carefully chosen to accentuate the chords. If you figure out the chords and melody on a keyboard and look at what the melody is doing, I think you'll see that it's staying comfortably within the chords — and the melodic contour is very well-crafted. And most of the tempos are moderately slow, and it's a pretty sparse, electronic production — both of those things prevent the songs from overwhelming you with complexity, so it's easy to appreciate and savor the songs. Also, the absence of conventional guitar/bass parts can prevent some of the familiar chord changes from sounding too cliche. And she sings each line with a very serious, determined delivery, as if she's absolutely committed to whatever she's singing about.
Related music (not necessarily that it sounds like Lorde, but I think you could recognize some of the same techniques): Prince (especially his 1999 album), Bjork (Homogenic album), The Postal Service, Ms. John Soda, Lali Puna.
posted by John Cohen at 5:48 AM on October 20, 2014 [5 favorites]
Related music (not necessarily that it sounds like Lorde, but I think you could recognize some of the same techniques): Prince (especially his 1999 album), Bjork (Homogenic album), The Postal Service, Ms. John Soda, Lali Puna.
posted by John Cohen at 5:48 AM on October 20, 2014 [5 favorites]
Best answer: I made a post on the blue about exactly this: Graeme Downes of the Verlaines talks about what makes Lorde such a good songwriter.
posted by escabeche at 6:30 AM on October 20, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by escabeche at 6:30 AM on October 20, 2014 [4 favorites]
Best answer: White Teeth Teens reminds me of Tegan & Sara, especially their first four albums. They're more folk/rock than Lorde is, but the vocals feel similar.
posted by Georgina at 6:58 AM on October 20, 2014
posted by Georgina at 6:58 AM on October 20, 2014
The Naked and Famous (especially 'Young Blood') share a fair amount of musical similarity with Lorde.
Broods do as well ('Bridges' is one of their best tracks), although they're more electronic and sparse.
Bonus: They're both from New Zealand as well.
posted by yellowcandy at 11:07 AM on October 20, 2014
Broods do as well ('Bridges' is one of their best tracks), although they're more electronic and sparse.
Bonus: They're both from New Zealand as well.
posted by yellowcandy at 11:07 AM on October 20, 2014
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posted by PenDevil at 5:38 AM on October 20, 2014