All my waiting and wishing and hoping and dreaming has finally paid off with the release of Lorde's new video for "Green Light" on Thursday, and the sensation I'm feeling most potently is relief. Relief because "Green Light" is Lorde at her weirdest and most wonderful, which is exactly what I've come to hope for and expect from the young artist. I was ready to accept anything and everything from Lorde, after waiting for new material from the New Zealander since her debut album Pure Heroine in 2013, but I have to admit that I was a little wary of what might be coming down the pipeline.
Once I heard that Lorde's sophomore project would be a completely different direction for her, I was nervous that some of the edges might have been sanded off of her distinctly individual, un-self-conscious vibe. I worried that she might have heard the criticisms of her haters and cut back on her witchier dance moves, or her unnerving habit of staring straight into the camera during music videos, daring the viewer to have a problem with her.
But as you can see from the video below, I needn't have worried. Although "Green Light" is undeniably a new sound, Lorde is clearly recognizable within it, and even more so when it comes to the video.
All of her most endearingly quirky, distinctly Lorde habits, all the odd little traits that make her most herself, are right out front — from the way she manages to sing while exposing her teeth, to the full-body gyrations and flailing that constitute dancing for Lorde, but that no other artist could ever come close to pulling off.
There's a spirit of reckless abandon in every note she sings and every move she makes, and it would read as a challenge to her haters if I believed she cared even the teensiest bit what they think. (Which I don't.) I think this is just Lorde being Lorde, letting the music and her body and brain take her wherever they might lead, just as she always has. It's what I've always loved most about her.
So welcome back, Lorde, at long last. We've missed you and your essential, irresistible weirdness.
