Lorde has released a cover of “Take Me to the River” for the new Talking Heads tribute album, her first new music drop since 2021. Following her third album, Solar Power, Lorde has been slowly drip-teasing new music. At shows in 2023, the New Zealand pop artist debuted unreleased songs “Invisible Ink” and “Silver Moon.“ On Instagram, she has left cryptic emojis and pictures on her story, not to mention her viral selfies “listening to [herself].” Kyle MacLachlan of Twin Peaks fame even recreated Lorde’s selfies on his own Instagram. Lorde’s cover of “Take Me to the River” is her first new official solo music since 2021.
She has also left various comments online further hinting what’s to come. In a now-deleted Instagram post, Lorde wrote that she “has a light on inside [her]” and that she will “show it to you soon.” More explicitly, she has told excited fans in Instagram comments last December that “We’re not CLOSE close you guys… i’m just getting so hype n needed to let u know.” She also added, “Start ur excitement on a low flame and bring it up to a gentle simmer .. we building stamina for this chapter.”
In a September 2023 newsletter to fans, Lorde cryptically referenced working on new music. “I’m in London, have been since May. Things feel clear here. I haven’t seen many friends; mostly, I’m alone with my thoughts. I go swimming, I go to work, I walk home or take the train, I eat in my kitchen, I go to bed thinking about what I’m making.”
Most tellingly, she added “I’m living with heartbreak again. It’s different but the same. I ache all the time, I forget why and then remember. I’m not trying to hide from the pain, I understand now that pain isn’t something to hide from, that there’s actually great beauty in moving with it. But sometimes I’m sick of being with myself. I eat chocolate to try and manipulate the endorphins, bring back the sweet happiness of Easter morning. I sit in the time machine and wait for it to move, but it hasn’t been invented yet.”
