Lorde’s ‘What Was That’ takes us back to the dancefloor for another emotional, electric journey

The last time we heard from Lorde, she was in reflective, introspective mode. After the New Zealand singer danced through heartbreak at a house party on her second album ‘Melodrama’, she embraced nature on its follow-up, ‘Solar Power’, ruminating on the intense fame she found in her teen years, growing up and grief and heartache of a different kind. It was sun-kissed and beautiful, but far more stripped back and mellow than the first two records that had helped make her a modern pop icon.

• READ MORE: ‘Melodrama’ at five: how Lorde’s cinematic pop opus inspired a new generation of artists

Two years after ‘Solar Power’’s release, it appeared that Lorde was heading back to a more upbeat sound when she premiered two new songs, ‘Silver Moon’ and ‘Invisible Ink’, at Boardmasters Festival 2023. Neither were four-to-the-floor bangers, but, despite still not having received an official release, served as a palette cleanser after her third album, switching gears back into the nocturnal synth-driven world that came before.

Now, with ‘What Was That’ – the first proper taste of Lorde’s new era – she confirms she’s fully ready to commit to the dancefloor once more. Just as on ‘Melodrama’, the star is using beats and ravey hooks to get through her heartbreak and longing, but instead of attempting to wash away the spectre of a past lover, she seems comfortable with the memories of them haunting her. “Do you know you’re still with me / When I’m out with my friends?” she asks, reminiscing on days spent taking “MDMA in the back garden, blow our pupils up” and kissing “for hours straight”.

That acceptance doesn’t mean there isn’t still plenty of pain and regret present, though. Lorde starts the song by listing things she’s done in the wake of her loss, covering “up all the mirrors” because she “can’t see myself yet” and making “a meal I won’t eat”. “I didn’t know then that you’d never be enough for…” she sighs at one point, the fiery intensity of her recollections dissipating into cold reality.

In many ways, ‘What Was That’ feels like a sibling song to ‘Green Light’, the lead single from ‘Melodrama’. But this time around, things never quite reach the same giddy heights, its drops taking a slightly tamer approach – never going full throttle, happy to land somewhere in the middle of full-blown ecstasy and sombre reflection. Despite lacking the killer punch, though, Lorde is back dancing in the dark and on emotional, electric form. Here’s hoping there’s more where this came from and that this summer really is a Lorde summer.

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