Melodrama

Sorry Boomers/Gen X, I was like 20 when this came out so it's one of the best things to ever happen to me. Sorry it's not King Crimson or whatever.

5/5 - Excellentttttt, Randy Marsh is a fantastic singer

Lordes singing style works so well. She's not the "best singer" but her lyrics paired with pop/electronic music fits so well. This album starts off so strong with "green light" and "sober" but then gets better with " homemade dynamite". It then changes into something more melancholy (sounding) but maintains its core (great song writing with great instrumentals). To be honest I don't think I ever gave her a fair chance and I regret doing so. Her music is nothing short of fantastic. Even the slower songs like "Liability" are so good to listen to. This whole journey she takes you on with this album is a trip worth taking (even if it can be a little dark and saddening, looking to fill a void with activities that are so empty is a powerful message and hit home)

It is an outstanding album, those transitions are amazing and it reflects an outstanding work, having said that, it is not better than Pure Heroin, hope it is on this list as well

The thing that is most striking about this album is the immaculate production, and Lorde's haunting and nostalgic vocals augment that production supremely.

I'm pretty well-versed in Antonoff-produced joints now. Currently, the man is so prolific, and his musical personality so prominent, that you can pretty much extract an Antonoff criteria from his best work over the last year alone (evermore, Gaslighter, Chemtrails Over the Country Club). Winsomeness will be king, there'll be a marked preference for mincing the same meat on each song rather trying a new cut and risking a mistake, the tone will be vaguely sombre as a rule in order to heighten the effect once the step-change choruses kick in, and you can expect an unusual instrumental touch pretty much every other track. Most important, on a GOOD Antonoff album there will be between four and six bangers. Melodrama meets all these criteria except for - you guessed it - the last one. Dang, almost.

I’ve no clue why it took me that long to listen to that. I really liked the humour in it.

It's okay. I like the 'bigger' sounding tracks, and definitely a lot of Kate Bush influence. But a lot of cliched, minimalistic, sad indie girl tracks - pretty boring. And I don't understand the weird accent she puts on. Some tracks a 4, but weak as an album.

There’s a couple of songs with actual hooks, but there aren’t enough interesting ideas musically to keep me interested for the duration of an entire record. The lyrics are of the typical break up, make up, angry at you, better than you, I’m not good enough for you, getting smashed at the club, hooking up with a random stranger, crying in the back of the cab on the way home variety. It’s been done and done better than here. The worst thing you can be called is bland, and Melodrama is just that.

I've listened to new music a lot more in the past few years. By new music I mean anything that doesn't appear on the front cover of Mojo magazine. But Melodrama reminds me why I hate the formulaic approach to much modern music making. It's almost as if it's been written by an algorithm to hit all the right mass market consumer hot spots. A familiar theme for me in these reviews: no soul. Sorry.

Lorde is very good at writing catchy songs that also have substantive lyrics.

Beautifully haunting album with some great pop thrown in

I have only ever listened to one of the Lorde’s track so approaching this with a degree of open mindedness. Really enjoyed the album, Lorde and Sia are of very similar styles both of which I find very pleasurable. Certainly an album that I would add to my favourites and listen to again and again, if I have one criticism it’s the use of bad language within some of the songs, I really don’t understand why that is a requirement these days within music and because of that I gave it a 4 out of 5

I enjoyed this. I think I prefer Pure Heroine as it is a little darker and (dare I say it) a little less melodramatic. Jack Antonoff produced this (he produces a lot of these types of records) and you can hear his influence on this as well as albums by Lana Del Rey too. This was an easy listen for the morning. Favorite song: Hard Feelings/Loveless Least favorite song: Liability

I've never really spent time with Lorde outside of her hits. This was a pretty great pop album. Apparently Jack Antonoff is the go-to producer for female pop stars now. Best track: Liability

Sounds like a mix between taxi music and Christian music. Listened twice, can't remember a single tune. Not strong.

Average whinge-pop.

I dont quite understand the fuss. It’s fine, a bit dull, I like her songwriting style and there are a couple of standout tracks but on the whole a bit dull

More "Radio Disney" music that will be forgotten within a year and have absolutely no lasting impact on music. Lorde may keep the public's attention for being an "influencer" or some other thing, but her music is instantly forgettable.

I really wish this wasn't today's album, but that's just personal circumstances. Green Light and Sober is a good 1-2 punch. The Louvre is.....uncomfortable right now at time of writing. Its good though. Then Liability happens. Jesus. THIS ALBUM IS AWESOME!

I am Lorde. Ya ya ya. On one hand I think she has a unique voice, she does that "cool girl" talk-singing thing in a lot of her songs. I'm not a woman in her 20s but I still enjoy it even though it feels very much music for that demographic. The songs are good overall. On the other hand, reading other reviews I keep seeing the name Jack Antonoff come up and I'm realizing this is another pop singer churned out by the song-writing machine. Maybe I'm just old and crotchety but I just don't like that there's some small cabal of people writing songs and then giving them out to pop singers to perform. I think songwriting is an art and it always disappoints me to learn that an artist just gets handed the music by some person that also writes songs for all of the other Virgin Radio artists that play on repeat ad nauseum. I'd normally give it 3 points for finding it ok but not quite my thing, but docking a point for my personal vendetta against the focus-group pop industry.

The William Shatner of synth pop.

Lorde slaps, kensie and I listened to this album together the day it came out and we laid on her bed and ate pizza - great vibes

Very good pop, well-produced throughout. Enjoyed it a lot- Liability is a nice song. 4.5/5

An amazing second album.

Full of angst and tension: Lorde sets out a missive of sass and retribution.

Okay, so full disclosure: I'm biased because this is one of my favorite albums of all time and I heard it YEARS ago in my early to mid 20s. To say I know this album like the back of my hand would be an insult to Lorde's and Antonoff's cowriting skills on this album, and also an understatement. Instead I'd rather say I know this album like I know the fit of a favorite pair of jeans: it's comfortable and reliable and somehow flatters almost every mood at the same time. I would fight anyone who dares to call this album anything short of a masterpiece. There are so many wonderful moments here, from the plot twist in "Liability" (the girl she loves is not a gay lover, but herself) to the quarantine-relevant "Sober" ("but what will we do when we're sober?"). When you consider the songwriting and production talent on this album it's especially impressive what Lorde accomplished with this modern classic. And I know it's not just her: Antonoff's influence is more than recognizable on this album with every creative chord and pulsing sixteenth-note beat (check out Taylor Swift's "Cruel Summer" for a background pulse analogous to what's used on the reprise of "Liability" on this album. His fingerprint is here on this album and yet, because he's Jack Antonoff, he very much is gifted at letting the artist shape the lines and the work without being overbearing. He's one of the mega voices for how pop music sounds and yet this album is SO different from Swift or Lana Del Rey, two of his other most well-known collaborators, among many others. Choosing a favorite track for this album is beyond difficult because this album has NO skips for me. It really is that good, and for me it's one of the ten best breakup albums of all time, up there with Red and 21. It really is a masterpiece. But it's nestled somewhere between breakup and coming-of-age and, as any seminal breakup album should be, has layers to it that you catch on later listens, and more than one theme going on at a time. Lorde may say she's a liability but as far as I'm concerned, in the music world she's a major asset. Five gold fucking stars. This album deserves all the hype it got and then some.

Music that is hard to categorise. It's very slickly produced and sounds cinematic and gothic with industrial grainy textures. Probably not as dark and it's certainly less sparse than the first Lorde album. There is lots of drama and the results are fascinating.

a masterpiece

AOTY

Great. I'd never listened to Lorde beyond being unable to avoid Royals, but this was nice chill pop. Loved it.

Just love.

One of the best albums of the last 20 years

I love when I get to hand out unexpected 5-star reviews. I didn't anticipate enjoying this album nearly as much as I ended up doing. The vocals are great, the production is top-notch, the composition is fantastic. The whole album is a great vibe. Even the lyrics, while being very "20-year-old-people's-problems" were clever and well-written for all that. I really enjoyed it. Listened through it twice.

Great artist with a great album!

I always knew that "Royals" was an awesome song, but I hadn't spent much time with Lorde's more recent music. This is a pretty incredible album. A very emotional and yet very catchy collection of songs. This is one I definitely want to keep listening to. I had lost some of my usual listening time today, but found myself making more time to spend with it. "Green Light" is a new anthem song for cranking up in the car. I love her vocal range in this with those growls. "But my hips have missed your hips" from "Sober" is the sort of lyric that leaps out of the speaker and slaps your face with its freshness. I felt similarly with "Homemade Dynamite." "The Louvre" is a song I adore for lots of reasons, which I will not list here for the sake of brevity. "Liability" and its reprise are absolute stabs in the heart. Stabs in the heart. And speaking of, "Writer in the Dark" really grabbed me and gave me a good shake with its overwhelmingly powerful emotion. And the rest! Wow!

I am familiar with some of Lorde's music, but this is the first listen of this album for me. I liked it. From the simple piano to the layered electronics, Lorde’s vocals pair very nicely with the music.

I've listened to this album seven times today...so far. I am in awe of Lorde's powerful voice and story-telling, her strength and vulnerability, her fearlessness. I wrote down some of my favorite lyrics but there were a lot. Lots of favorite songs, too. This deserves more than five stars.

I had bought this album immediately after hearing "Green Light" back when it was released. It’s still my favorite Lorde song and one of the greatest breakup songs ever. I’m also a Jack Antonoff fan so it is no surprise I love this album. I can’t get enough of “Supercut” and “Greenlight” - both awesome dance songs. Other favorites include “Sober,” “The Louvre,” “Liability,” and “Sober II.” But really the whole album is great. Most of the songs are explorations of relationships. Why are we in them? What holds us together? What tears us apart? Whether your relationship is perfect happiness, total misery or somthing in between MELODRAMA has something to offer you. The music is great, the lyrics are insightful. Wonderful from start to finish.

Melodrama has a strong opening with 'Green Light'. Individual songs occasionally feel disconnected from each other musically but each song is pretty fantastic in their own right. The songs compliment her wispy style of singing. Raw and honest lyrics. Personal favs: The Louvre, Liability

This. For some reason this album took longer than it should to come around for me. But holy shit did it come around :')

I LOVE WRITER IN THE DARK SM ITS WEIRD BUT I FEEL LIKE I RELATE TO IT

Standout album, varied, uplifting, confident. Loved it.

Haha I kind of know this one already :p I go back to it every once in a while; homemade dynamite, hard feelings/loveless and sober were in my 2017 top songs on Spotify. I just love this album a lot, the sound and also the images that it created in my head upon many listens.

I like lorde but this one didn't really do much for me

I really don't enjoy Lorde's singing style. Lazy pronunciation, lack of "R" sound, I don't know why I just can't really stand it. Music is pretty minimal effort digital/electronic driven, some decent beats and occasional hooks, but otherwise kinda lame.

Despite being a kiwi myself, this is my first time listening willingly to Lorde's music and, try as I may, I just can't get past my issues with her pronunciation of her lyrics.. some kind of weird tone to her speech that just grates on my ears... Though, that track Liability is a goodie and would be great in the hands (and voice!) of a singer like Phoebe Bridgers

To the millennial at the top, expand your horizons because if this is your soul defining album . . . Its bland, over produced and Lorde cannot sing nor write. 2017 must have been a poor year. Utter garbage. Can't even vote less than 1. Shane.

This and pure heroine are automatic 5’s. Lorde doesn’t not get enough credit for literally created the bedroom pop sound

"I'm totally not a pop girlie," I say, as I reflexively rate this a 5/5

it's a homemade d-d-d-dynamite! I think I must really be out of touch with modern music because this one completely blew me away. Absolutely loving it and it's totally outside of my comfort zone. I think there's not a single weak track (although some of the more poppy tunes are a bit too much for me, see Supercut or Perfect places). The lyrics are youthful but mature, and Lorde's voice is just beautiful. The entire album stands out from all the old classic folky albums I've been tortured with recently. Plus the artwork is so pretty it makes me want to purchase a vinyl copy. Favourites: Green Light, Homemade Dynamite, Liability, Writer in the Dark (that Kate Bush chorus!) and that short ending to Hard Feeling/Loveless. Straight to my favourite albums.

Lorde had changed the pop landscape in 2013 with Pure Heroine, believe it or not. The toned-down alt-pop sound had broken through ultra-party electropop of the Black Eyed Peas and LMFAO, forcing the pop genre to evolve with more subtly and ambience. Alt-pop had brought more distinct vocal personalities to the front. Now, the likes of Lana Del Rey, Halsey, and more recently Billie Eilish have become the predominate sound of top 40 pop. So, after 4 long years, it comes to reason that Lorde's sophomore album would be highly anticipated. Melodrama successfully builds on the groundwork laid by Lorde on Pure Heroine by giving more dimension to the production through exploring more genre conventions. Stripped-down singer-songwriter piano ballads, explosive dance-pop tracks, and thoughtful alternative r&b songs give Lorde's signature alt-pop sound new life. Songs like Green Light and Writer in the Dark showcase a strong new direction indicating Lorde's forward-thinking pop sensibilities in her songwriting. This is a distinctly introspective breakup album, if the title and cover art didn't allude to that already. I think this is a fresh and well-needed take on the breakup album, which centers alcohol and partying as a coping mechanism which shows the highs and (mostly) lows of her experiences. As such, the more dance-focused elements of the album are drenched in a sort of sweet sorrow as Lorde drinks her sadness away. This is then contrasted with the slower, more depressive songs that represent the hangover. It's effective, showing maturity in Lorde's growth as an artist while still holding on to what made her so excellent in the first place. I think Melodrama might be one of the best albums of the 2010's, making this a shoe-in for the list. It's a shame that she would then fumble her strong footing in the pop world with her disappointing summer album Solar Power in 2021.

Gen Z masterpiece. Can’t argue with this being on the top 10 of the 2010s. So sick of music snobs who over the past few years discount anything Jack Antonoff has been involved with. This is her album, get over yourselves assholes.

4.5 22/07 Love Lorde to bits, and this is such an amazing album with so many good songs. But like her singing in Writer in the Dark just reminds me of the time when she shushed the crowd to sing it. I will forever cringe to that moment

best songs: green light the louvre hard feelings/loveless sober ii

The Album™️ of 2017

9/10. Of course I'd heard the hits before, but the album as a whole is rock solid.

Its always a pleasure listening to Lorde

❤❤❤❤❤ I love Lorde! On a less lovey note, great album. Pacing is perfect, great minimalist story telling. Her Glastonbury performance based on this album was an all time classic.

Loved it a million times over.

I procrastinated listening to this one for years; I thought Green Light was a good single, but just didn’t think the album could reach the absurdly high bar she’d set for herself with Pure Heroine. I am happy to say I was right, in a way. She did not meet the bar; she fucking cleared it with room to spare.

The bestest work in the 10’s

This is a really good album - this is how you do electronic pop. Remember to write some songs.

"Green Light" has been one of my perennial jams since it came out, but I never listened to the rest of this album. Solid, moody synth pop throughout.

Some of the best pop music these days comes from Lorde. It's not my personal favorite music, but I respect the craft and I honestly think she's underrated for what she does. She was 16 when she recorded her debut and 19 when she recorded this one, yet is arguably better at writing songs than people twice her age.

Not my usual cup of team but I enjoyed a few songs. I can understand why this was so critically acclaimed at the time and I certainly appreciated it more this listen than when I have previously. 3.5/5

3.5

True to its name it has a very melancholic and ethereal vibe, with a pop base. Favorite songs: Green Light, Supercut

First impression was 'echo of late disco era early 80s techno'. The singer did not show a huge vocal range but was alluring in the solumness of her words. Ended up delighted with the entire album. Probably didn't listen to her before since I am an old man and she is a youngster - and I avoid the appearance of impropriety. I will be listening again

Really liked PURE HEROINE definitely a 4 for me while this seems like it's trying to be deeper and falling flat

Taylor Swifts goth sister over here

Melodrama Oh lordy Musically I actually liked this a lot, lots of ominous bass, big echoey spacey production, some great synths, overall a pleasing electro pop sound. Melodically I quite like it too, there’s some good hooks and some well constructed tracks, with a lot of very obvious Kate Bush influence. But vocally it’s irritating as fuck. That annoying, affected, bullshit, excessively and falsely american sounding cursive singing style, where no-one can sing Rs properly, even though they can when they speak normally. She’s from New Zealand. Lyrically some of it is a bit cringe too - like a 19 year old’s instagram posts set to music. But then I don’t think she wrote it with me in mind. Despite the vocals and lyrics, I did like quite a few of the songs. Green Light is a bit of a banger, The Louvre is pretty good, Hard Feelings/Loveless is good and Supercut and Perfect Places are decent enough bits of pop. The rest is forgettable really. Soundwise I do like this, it has some great musical and instrumental moments and some good songs, but that vocal style really does grate on me, so it straddles 2 and 3, I’ll tip over to 3 so millennials will like me. 🥝🥝🥝 Playlist submission: Greenlight

Quite liked this. Had a bit of variety to the songs.

It was good. You can’t really go wrong with Lorde though.

Some jams for sure. The Antonoff effect is strong with this one.

It was okay! If you like Florence you’d probably like this. Hell I would have liked it more if I was 10 years younger. A little too much voice manipulation for my taste. But not bad!

It's great power pop. I don't find it particularly relatable to my experience, but its' definitely an easy and energetic listen

I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. Not as great as Pure Heroine, but few albums are.

Je me souviens très bien où j'étais lorsque j'ai écouté cet album d'une oreille des plus passives.

This, to me, is just absolutely representative of that not-quite-singing, not-quite-talking, waifish white woman mid-2010s nonsense that made me turn off the radio at the time. It's not offensive, it's just... there. And there's nothing that can elicit an emotion from me, to the point that I didn't notice I was already looking through Spotify at other musicians by about track 8. Definitely in the 'not for me' camp.

I really didn’t like this, which was surprising because I liked pure heroine

Starts well, gets very boring very quickly... Music for teenage girls angry at their boyfriend (which is fine but not my demographic lol)

I have a hard time with these albums. I don't see this as groundbreaking or seminal, so putting a 2017 album on the 2018 version of this list seems short shorted at best. It's a fairly by the numbers electropop album. I wish I could say I was delighted or surprised by anything the tracks were going for. I think I also sort of ruined this album for myself by reading the wiki page while I listened. Being told there were industrial and noise inspired tracks on this album got my hopes up. In a vacuum, this music is fine. It's pleasant and achieves the mood the artist was going for. In the context of this list, it's definitely ranked lower. I don't understand why music this generic and new gets put on this list when there's actual groundbreaking music being released today.

Fuck…I’m old.

Some of this is really good, but dragged down by stuffing the back half with piano ballads, twinkling away until I finally call the cops on her. Turn the music up, lady, we got a lack-of-noise complaint! Supercut is just Lorde improvising over royalty free ad music.

I knew our hot streak had to end somehow. I'm notoriously not a fan of this album. Lorde sometimes makes music I like (really enjoyed Solar Power), but man her voice is like nails on a chalkboard to me. It's that raspy, indie girl affectation that feels unbelievably phony. Her songwriting is "quirky"--I put that in quotes so you can understand that sometimes it's fun for me and many times it's unbearable. This album just maximizes all the Lorde traits that I dislike, she turned the sliders up on my least favorite things. I guess that's why I like Solar Power so much in comparison; she goes the other way. Still, I have to admit that I enjoy a few tracks on here. I HATE to admit that one of those is "The Louvre" because it features one of the quirky lyrics that I've despised for years: "we're hanging in the Louvre, not in the front, but who cares? Still the Louvre." Whatever the hell it is, just so in-your-face ~I'm not like other girls~ cheeky BS. That was the thesis of "Royals" as well, we get it dude. The production is solid, but her vocal and lyrical contributions put me off of this so emphatically. Kudos for the title though, it really is melodramatic in ways that I clearly can't stand. Favorite tracks: Homemade Dynamite, Perfect Places, The Louvre. Album art: Really excellent artwork here, (almost) a saving grace. It sucks that I love seeing this one and don't want to hear it. I want more paintings as album covers. 2/5

This is so fucking mopey.

I thought this album was horrible. The production was its only redeeming quality, everything else I didn't like. Not a single good song. Why the fuck did they pick this but not "Pure Heroine"?

Terrible

Sorry Gen Z, it's one of the worst things to happen to music with the breathy and lifeless indie girl vocals.

Man, I really wanted to like this album when it came out. Being such a big fan of Pure Heroine (a 5/5 album imo), I listened to Melodrama over and over with the hope that it would start sounding good or even just tolerable. Reader, it never did. And 6 years later, I still can't convince myself that there's anything here worth listening to. I'm not very good at articulating why the actual sound of the music doesn't click, but the best I can say is that in every song, Lorde's singing doesn't match the instrumentals which is just super annoying. (I think this is a melody problem?) And on top of that, where in her first album Lorde's low singing voice sounds authoratative and smooth, here it sounds strained and grating. And on top of THAT, the lyrics are uninspired. Like I said, I've always wanted to like this album. But nothing worked for me then or works for me now, and I don't think it ever will.

"Dad, can we have Taylor Swift please please please?" "No, we have Taylor Swift at home" Taylor Swift at home: Lorde Couldn't wait for this to finish, not a single tune to be found on it. Antonoff production style is much better on my girl Lana's efforts, which also generously include melodies. Utter dogshit

I mean.... no notes

9/10. At first, I was like "Seriously? Another pop album?". However, after listening to it, I must say that my expectations have been exceeded, and I'm thoroughly impressed. The vocals are powerful. The production is great. The melodies are catchy, but not uninspired. Great album!!! :)

this album came out a week after my seventeenth birthday, so it’s total nostalgia-bait for me. it soundtracked some of the best nights of my life, driving home at dawn to perfect places, and some of the worst ones too, pining in my bedroom to liability. easiest five stars i could ever give.

Es la mejor. No sé si algún día la calificare objetivamente, este disco será por siempre de aquellos que me cambio.

If you don’t get Lorde, you don’t get me

Powerful lyrics, mix of bops and soulful tunes, love this album!

One of my fav breakup albums AND one my fav girl-pop albums

Soothing