- Lorde recently told Vogue her albums can be distinguished by drugs she was using at the time.
- She said “Pure Heroine” is alcohol, “Melodrama” is MDMA, and “Solar Power” is cannabis.
- Lorde previously said “Solar Power” started as a “big acid record,” but then she had a bad trip.
Lorde recently discussed her reclusive creative process in her October cover story for Vogue, including the influences she’s been under during each era.
As paraphrased by Vogue’s Rob Haskell, the 24-year-old pop star revealed “her albums can be distinguished by the drugs she was using when making them.”
Her 2013 debut “Pure Heroine,” which deals with themes of teen angst and suburban isolation, was shaped by Lorde’s early experiences with alcohol. Several songs seem to take place at drunken house parties, including the fan-favorite track “Ribs,” which begins, “The drink you spilt all over me.”
Perhaps most interestingly, Lorde said her 2017 sophomore effort “Melodrama” is associated with MDMA, an abbreviation for the drug commonly known as ecstasy. It’s also known as “Molly” in some circles, particularly for those who use it as a party stimulant.
In her filmed “73 Questions” interview with Vogue, published in July, Lorde said the emotion that’s most central to “Melodrama” is “ecstasy.” The tracklist was designed to mirror a kaleidoscopic evening of post-heartbreak hedonism.
According to a 2019 study at the University of Exeter, people who take ecstasy report feeling “significantly greater emotional empathy” and are better at identifying others’ emotions, compared to those who use other popular drugs like cocaine and ketamine.
Finally, Lorde’s most recent release “Solar Power” is linked to cannabis — “not bong hits in the bedroom so much as gummies on a bluff at sunset,” according to Haskell.
Lorde previously told the New York Times’ Joe Coscarelli that she originally set out to make a “big acid record.”
“I had, like, one bad acid experience with this album, and I was like, ‘Meh, it’s a weed album.’ It’s one of my great weed albums,” she said.
Lorde alludes to cannabis in the album’s third single, “Mood Ring,” which she has described as a satire of wellness culture (“We can get high but only if the wind blows just right”).
You can read Insider’s review of “Solar Power” here and our breakdown of all the details you may have missed here.