With Lorde’s last record, Melodrama, coming up on its fourth anniversary later this month, the New Zealand pop star has begun teasing a new project called “Solar Power.” It’s unconfirmed whether it’s a single or a full album, or something else entirely.

She recently blacked out her website with just the release’s album artwork and the words “Arriving in 2021 …  Patience is a virtue.” The artwork shows Lorde’s butt in a thong bathing suit as she jumps over a fish-eye camera on the beach.

Fans have been waiting for new Lorde songs a little less patiently ever since she revealed last May that she had worked on new music with Jack Antonoff and stated that it’s “So fucking good.” The news was announced during an email blast to her fans mailing list.

She began the email with an update on her life, saying she’d been growing her hair out. “I think after Melodrama came out I said I wouldn’t put out another record until my hair was long – both because hair takes time to grow, and I knew I needed time, and because I knew the next record would require the longest and wildest hair yet,” she said. “In many cultures and religions throughout history, long hair has been viewed as a source of power and a link to the spiritual world, and I can certainly say that I have never felt more spiritually rich and in touch with the voices that guide.”

After a bit more about COVID-19 restrictions loosening up in New Zealand and some updates on her recovery from the loss of her dog in 2019, which had delayed the album’s recording by a bit, she mentioned getting back into the studio in December 2019. “I started going back to the studio again in December, just for something to do, and to my surprise, good things came out. Happy, playful things. I felt my melodic muscles flexing and strengthening,” she wrote, later adding: “A thing started to take shape. And then, of course, the world shut down. We’re still working away — Jack and I FaceTimed for over an hour this morning going over everything. But it’ll take a while longer.” 

There’s more to the note here, ending with a statement that “The work is so fucking good, my friend. I am jazzed for you to hear it.”

Melodrama was her sophomore album, featuring singles including “Green Light,” “Perfect Places” and “Sober.” It was a widely-acclaimed follow-up to her 2013 debut album Pure Heroine, which is best known for her breakout hit “Royals.” She’s been creeping back to the stage recently as well, including a duet performance of Bruce Springsteen’s “Tougher Than the Rest” with Marlon Williams. Lorde was announced as a headliner for the 2022 Primavera Sound Barcelona festival as well.

Photo credit: Sharon Alagna