Are you ready for Lorde Summer?

After shedding her "spiritual girl" aura of sundresses, sunset walks, and seaside meditation, Lorde has left behind "Solar Power" to reconnect with her inner melodrama. It all started with a video posted by the artist on TikTok just over a week ago: the New Zealand singer-songwriter announced her comeback with the single What Was That. In the brief 15-second clip, later revealed to be a snippet from the music video of her new song, Lorde walks and runs through the streets of New York, filming only her steps and outfit: white shirt, faded jeans, and combat boots. However, two details stand out: hanging from the belt loops of her pants, near one of the front pockets, is a chain decorated with tangled earphones, charms, and keychains; and on the tip of her left boot, there’s a gray strip resembling classic duct tape. This last detail has sparked a new trend on TikTok where users recreate Lorde’s look with tape and lip sync to the few lyrics revealed at the time.

What can we expect from the new album? There is no doubt that both sonically and aesthetically, the singer-songwriter is engaging in a sort of nostalgia operation using sounds reminiscent of her earlier records like Melodrama and especially Pure Heroine, the debut album that in 2013 brought her success and crowned her the ultimate Tumblr girl alongside Lana Del Rey. Lorde’s return at this precise historical moment is no coincidence: in the media, especially in the U.S., there is talk of "recession pop". Sophia Olson in Gen Admission writes: "While money is not synonymous with happiness, recessions bring a certain level of emotional discomfort." She continues: "The United States has gone through thirty-four recessions in its history, each with a varying duration. However, all these recessions have one common element: the use of music as a cultural force during periods of recession." Essentially, the musical comebacks of artists like Kesha, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, and Lorde with deeply pop projects share the goal of bringing lightness, a sense of escapism, and youthful carefree spirit in the face of an economy and society in collapse.

As for the aesthetics, Lorde is choosing normcore, a trend highlighted among the recession indicators for this FW25 season. The first public appearance of Lorde’s look change happened at Coachella when she performed with Charli XCX during her headliner show, singing Girl, so confusing, one of the most streamed tracks from the remix version of Brat. After a platinum blonde phase, the artist returned to a natural raven color and, amid a crowd of celebrities wearing fringe and glamour, Lorde opted for a gray "borrowed" t-shirt, pants with a reflective effect, and boots featuring fake tape on the tip: extreme simplicity standing out against the inflated maximalism of Coachella. Another example came a few days ago when, at the latest New York Knicks game, the singer wore a total Balenciaga look consisting of a striped polo and low-rise jeans straight from SS25. Simplicity, naturalness, and also vulnerability seem to be key elements of this new era of Lorde, also recognizable from the singer’s social profiles. An example is her new Spotify profile picture, taken by Thistle Brown, where Lorde appears without makeup, wearing a gray zip-up sweatshirt, with messy hair and a frightened, almost dramatic look. Also, the cover of her new song features a simple close-up of the artist with a wet and dripping face as if she had just finished crying. On the cover, the singer wears a red turtleneck sweater, and her braids are slightly visible, reminiscent of Marina Abramović’s performance "The Artist Is Present."

Regarding the artist’s highly anticipated new album, fans eagerly awaited new clues, and Lorde, responding to her community’s desire for reconnection, organized a surprise release party on the streets of New York. The singer called for a meet-up at Washington Square Park. Lorde’s fans flooded the park, climbing trees and lampposts until the police intervened and shut down the event. Despite this, Lorde’s fandom stayed for the next hour until producer Dev Hynes (also known as Blood Orange) arrived with a speaker and played What Was That at full volume. Lorde arrived later in the evening: she wore a white shirt, which she unbuttoned as in the video, revealing a metallic bra. The singer stopped to thank the gathered fans, who meanwhile had started dancing with her to her hits, recreating that nostalgic atmosphere evoked by Lorde’s pop. The beginning of what will likely be the Lorde Summer was announced by the artist herself in a surprise voice message to her community: "These are truly the last moments where it’s just us, everything is about to change. I can’t wait, it’s going to be insane, you have no idea."