This review is based mainly on my first listen of the album.
Virgin is Lorde’s much-awaited 4th studio album. At 28 years old, Lorde has established a cult following with a huge fanbase since the singer released “Royals” in 2013. If you are old enough to remember the days of Tumblr, you will know that her first album, Pure Heroin, was a staple on the edgy blogs, paired with fishnet tights and cigarettes. While I’m not a Lorde superfan, I have had many drunken nights in an Uber home listening to “Supercut” from her second album, Melodrama, and “Ribs” from Pure Heroin, so I was really excited to hear this new album and maybe feel some nostalgia from my teenage angst years.
This track-by-track review of Virgin is based on notes from my first listen of the full album. There are a couple of points that I make that are from extra listens and they are clearly noted as so. This review might seem like I’m bashing Lorde’s artistry but please read all the way to the end for a little explanation. Doing a first time listen review is actually pretty difficult!
Here’s my first listen review of Virgin!
Hammer
Listening to the start of this song with AirPods is very fun; I love the panning! Although… the start is quite a scratchy sound, it’s almost giving me chills but in a nails-down-a-blackboard way. I love the classic Lorde synth when she begins to sing.
‘Don’t know if it’s love or ovulation’, you got that right girly!
‘Some days I’m a woman, some days I’m a man’ had me googling “Is Lorde non-binary?”. (She uses she/her pronouns and describes herself as a cis woman but has said she’s in the middle gender wise, in case anyone wanted to know!)
This is such a good opening song for her new album that the fans have obviously been wanting for such a long time! ‘I mighta been born again / I’m ready to feel like I don’t have the answers’ is a great I’M BACK AND I’M HEALED (question mark) FROM ALL THAT SHIT I WENT THROUGH BEFORE lyric.
(1 minute 15 seconds into the first song) OOOOO IS THIS A DANCE ALBUM???
CANAL STREET?? MANCHESTER GAY VILLAGE MENTIONED?? (1:30) Just kidding, I feel like there’s probably thousands of Canal Streets in the world. Editing note: These are all straight from my notes app on my phone, I love a caps lock I can’t lie.
It’s kind of giving me ‘Bagsy Not In Net’ from Notes On A Conditional Form by The 1975, just the mixed vocals in the background really, idk.
‘It’s a fucked up world, been to hell and back / But I’ve sent you a postcard from the edge’ I love thattttt.
The end synth-y sound and her ad libs are kind of reminding me of the ending of American Teenager by Ethel Cain??
What Was That
Okay, I’ve heard this one before obviously cos it’s always on the radio and I should put a disclaimer here that I take the piss out of some lyrics of this song quite a lot because I think they’re “edgy” and silly but I actually think that this song is really fun and poppy !! Disclaimer over, lets go.
‘I wear smoke like a wedding veil’ literally pop off you poetic queen, what a sexily good lyric.
Right, here it is… ‘MDMA in the back garden, blow our pupils up’ 🤟🤟. Guys, it’s a bit silly, isn’t it? It makes me want to do Disney knees and tuck my hair behind my ear in a mysterious way. It makes me feel like I’m standing front row at a 1D concert, reading a book and Harry Styles sings to me but I just roll my eyes cos I’m not interested in this band with all of these screaming girls but my friend dragged me here. Do we get where I’m going with this?? Okay, I’m done. Resuming song.
It’s a good song like vibe wise but I really really don’t like the lyrics (‘I wear smoke like a wedding veil’ this is not about you sweetie), but maybe I’m not getting the vision. Is it maybe supposed to represent her younger self and how these experiences that she thought were really cool were actually pretty silly looking back? Is that why the songs called What Was That??? Like what the hell was I doing??? Omg…
‘I try to let whatever has to pass through me pass through’ I know this is probably about like letting your emotions out instead of keeping them bottled in, but come on girl… I can’t believe no one said to her, “Babe, this sounds like you’re talking about shitting, maybe we say this in a different way”???
I know I said I like this song but I’m starting to think I am just a hater. I do like the fun synth in the background, I like everything about the composition to be honest.
(3:21) Ooooo I like the ending.
But baby, what was that?
Shapeshifter
Okay, love the drum pad thing!
Chewing gum ??? PAUSE. Am I just not seeing the vision? What is actually going on with Lorde and the lyrics in this album?
I fear… this is not good. Why is she speaking like that in that rhythm? It sounds like when you’re learning a new song in choir and you’re told to say the words out instead of singing to get the rhythm right so there’s no colour or expression in it. I DO NOT want to be the person to compare the two of them (yes, I listened to Girl, So Confusing so I HATE doing this) but it just feels like she’s trying to do what Charli did and it’s not her style ! 😦
Aw I’m actually gutted you know, I really wanted to like this but I just don’t think I’m understanding the vision. I don’t think that I’m the target audience for this at all and that’s okay but I am disappointed cos I love a bit of Lorde.
(3:06 – when I noticed the cello after my rant) Omg CELLOOOOO okay I’m back.
Aw, I’m gone again. (I don’t know when this was and SPOILER I actually really like this song now so I can’t even think why I would’ve said this).
I like the chorus, to be honest, I think the lyrics are good there and that the topic of changing yourself to fit the needs of whoever you’re with or to almost protect yourself from getting hurt is an important one to talk about because it’s something that a lot of women I know have struggled with.
The end of this song is actually really good I WISH the whole song was this vibe, and her voice is beautiful. I want more of this.
SECOND LISTEN OPINION – I’ve decided I was being too much of a hater, this is actually a bit of a banger and has grown on me already, I think listening to the full album and understanding the vibe a bit more has given me a new appreciation for this song, sorry for doubting you, Lorde x
Editing note: Sometimes you’re wrong and that’s okay! I actually love this song and I take back all of the Lorde slander and Charli XCX comparison. I wanted this to be a raw reaction of my first listen so I’ve included all of my notes but it’s funny how listening to a song once compared to even listening to it twice can be so different!
Man of the Year
I’ve heard a little bit of this one on TikTok. Lorde’s voice is really so pretty, I hope there’s more of this type of stuff on the rest of the album because this is probably my favourite so far. I love that distant sounding echoey electric guitar. I also love that bass-y synth combined with everything and then the clear vocals coming through.
Also love a song hating on a man 🫶
Favourite Daughter
Oh, this is different!
Oh. I was thinking “hmmm this sounds like the start of another song”… It sounds like Rock ‘n’ Roll (Part 2) by Gary Glitter 😐
Anyway… ‘It was you in the dark’ possibly a little nod to Writer In The Dark?
(1:40) OOOOO I LOVE THIS ONE! The synth in triplets is so fun.
‘Panic attack just to be your favourite daughter’ is a pretty sick lyric !!
Okay, that was my favourite song so far.
Editing note: I’m noticing that the songs that I actually liked straight away the first time I listened to them, I don’t say much about the song at all and I think it could maybe be because I was just enjoying it instead of critiquing. Like I said, first time listen reviews are difficult!
Current Affairs
Okay, the start is pretty standard.
(0:47) I’m liking the build of the pre-chorus.
‘He spit in my mouth / Like he’s saying a prayer / But now I’m crying on the phone / Swearing nothings wrong / Blame it on current affairs’ we’re so back guys !!
(1:34) Ooooo I love a little pop culture reference to Pam and Tommy’s stolen tape (Watching the tape of their honeymoon / On the boat, it was pure and true / Then the film came out).
‘Would you dive to the ocean floor / Just to take my pearl?’ WE ARE SO BACK GUYS.
Okay, this is my second favourite song so far.
Clearblue
What does ‘praying in MP3’ mean?
‘Your metal detector hits my precious treasure’ Is this about her IUD?
‘I rode you til I cried’ Oh.
Okay I liked that it was acapella… not much else to report.
Editing note: I’m quite disappointed in myself with this one, to be honest. This is obviously a song with vulnerable lyrics and I’ve totally taken them at face value and judged immediately because I have been a HATER this whole album listen. The song is literally called Clearblue, she talks about her IUD, generational trauma, and her experience with the fear of being pregnant but also the little bit of disappointment that comes with a negative result. The fact that I managed to reduce it to 4 lines of opinions is crazy. Once again, first time listens are hard !!
GRWM
Please please please be a fun getting ready girly anthem.
‘A grown woman in a baby tee’ MEEEEE.
OH, GR WM is grown woman !! I like that.
It’s a good song, I like the listing section parts the most.
Broken Glass
So far so good tbh. (Wow that is revolutionary reviewing, Bobbi.)
‘I spent my summer getting lost in math / Making weight took all I had’ Bless her. Eating disorders are so so rough and it makes me sad that anyone feels like that.
‘It might be months of bad luck / But what if it’s just broken glass?’ I love this lyric because it’s like yeah something bad might happen, but it probably won’t and as someone with anxiety, I get this feeling a lot! Obviously the song is about Lorde dealing with her eating disorders and demons but I love when you hear certain lyrics and can relate to them even if it might not be the meaning that the artist had in mind. Art is interpreted differently by everyone.
If She Could See Me Now
Okay rock queen x
‘Yesterday, I lifted your body weight’ Okay fitness queen x
I’ve got to pause this and find out who this is about !! (It’s so funny writing this and knowing fine well who it’s about and how obvious it is really).
OMG IT’S ABOUT HERSELF SHE’S TALKING ABOUT HERSELF IN RETROSPECT I LOVE THIS (Bless my little cotton socks).
‘I bring the pain out the synthesiser / The bodies move like there’s spirits inside ’em’ YESSSSS LOVE.
And I will say the synth in this whole album, let alone this song, has been great. Thank you Lorde for the return of the synth.
Editing note: Synth Lorde ! Like Sith Lord ! Return of the Synth Lorde !
David
‘Was I just someone to dominate?’ Ouch, that was a great lyric but a warning would’ve been lovely.
‘If I had virginity, I would have given that too / Why do we run to the ones that we do?’ Ohhhhh okay that first lyric WAS the warning.
I’d quote every single lyric here with OUCH after it if I could.
‘I made you God cause it was all that I knew how to do’ Okay this is the point where I started crying.
With the synth building in the back???? This is spiritual.
OMG the production of this song is stunning.
That’s my fav song on the album.
Editing note: This is such a beautiful song and I didn’t even really dive deep into any lyrics because it was just such a raw reaction of “oh my god, these lyrics are devastating and I can relate to them” and as a first listen, when something provokes such an emotional response, you can’t really go into detail because that part of your brain is switched off, or it was for me anyway.
Top 3 Songs
- David
- Favourite Daughter
- Current Affairs
Honourable mention: Shapeshifter – I had to give this one it’s flowers because of how much of a bitch I was being about it in my first listen and how much I really love it now.
Final Thoughts
Okay, so the songs towards the end of the album I obviously vibed with and were a little more my style, as we can see. Looking back, I’ve been a bit (a lot!) of a hater but re-listening, I quite like the vibe of it all. The production of the whole album is stunning. I do think that you need to listen to this album a couple of times to get the vision and I’m glad I didn’t write it off after the first listen because I actually really do like it. I also think that listening to an album for the first time with the sole purpose of reviewing it can make you look too deeply into things and makes the experience less enjoyable which is probably why on my second listen I just vibed along and realised that I was being harsh! In my little editing notes, I talk about how hard it was to do the first time listen review and I can see how it just became almost a stream of consciousness rather than giving any actual critique. Not sure I’ll ever do another first listen opinion but if I do, I’ll probably be more aware of what I’m writing and give my notes a bit more substance (and mark the time of my thoughts because that was so annoying trying to write this up and having no idea what parts I was talking about! But this was a good learning experience nonetheless.
Overall, I’d give this album a 7.5/10!
Bobbi Listens 