On June 27, 2025, New Zealand singer Lorde released her fourth studio album, “Virgin.” The album keeps the melancholic, almost meditative quality of Lorde’s discography while exploring some new themes — gender and the politics of the body — alongside old themes like relationships, growing up and ambition.
One of my favorite aspects of this album is actually its cover. It’s an X-Ray of Lorde’s uterus. In the image, you can see dark spots for her zipper, belt buckle and IUD.
It’s interesting; it is as naked as a human can be, even without the flesh and yet it is distinctly non-sexual. The cover, combined with the thematic content of the songs makes for a powerful distinction between nudity, which is physical, and nakedness, which is emotional.
Unfortunately, I think the opening track, “Hammer” is the weakest track on “Virgin,” which made me worried for the rest of the album. “Hammer” features industrial, abstract instrumentation that might be striking if it came from Sabrina Carpenter but has become so typical of Lorde that it’s almost boring — almost. The titular concept of the song, the phrase “when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail” is intriguing, but it isn’t explored beyond one lyric which is quickly lost among a sea of Lorde’s typical, descriptive hyper-urban lyrical style. It’s good, it’s just nothing new.
“What Was That” was released prior to “Virgin” on a single alongside “Man of the Year.” It sounds so like Lorde that I found myself waiting for the chorus of “Supercut” to come in instead of the real chorus of the new song. “What Was That” at least brought in stronger lyrics and more interesting vocals.
In contrast, “Man of the Year” is one of my favorites on the album. The lyrics explore Lorde’s relationship with gender, which she describes as “I’m a woman except for days when I’m a man” in an interview with Billboard. The sound is stripped down and simple, mostly a simple baseline and Lorde’s vocals. The minimalist instrumentation from Lorde isn’t new; it bears resemblance to songs like “Liability,” but it serves the lyrics and tone well. The song repeats the question, “Who’s gon’ love me like this?” It's a pertinent question many ask themselves as they explore their identities deeper and here Lorde words a complicated question in such a gut-punchingly simple way.
My favorite song on “Virgin” has to be “Favorite Daughter.” Again, it is a song that explores gender roles, ambition and the desire to please. Musically, “Favorite Daughter” brings in an unexpectedly peppy drumline, contrasted engagingly with Lorde’s raspy vocals. I find it the most interesting song to listen to and to analyze. The runner up for favorite has to be “Broken Glass,” a song about fighting against plastic surgery and beauty standards, looked at through the lens of the old adage that breaking a mirror is bad luck.
While far from my favorite song, the closing track “David” produced my favorite 40 seconds of music on the entire album, right at the end. Leading into the final chorus, the music crescendos and distorts, resembling broken speakers or headphones before melting into overlapping voices singing “Am I ever gon’ love again?”
While the rest of “David” is a song looking bitterly back on an old relationship, which I found somewhat predictable and thus didn’t really do much for me, the final moments of the song — and therefore the album — are chilling.
I thought the new themes she explored lyrically were interesting and I appreciated it when she brought in new musical choices to compliment those newer themes. Still, I wished for more exploration of musical identity alongside exploration of personal identity. I liked this album because I liked Lorde. It sounds the way you expect it to sound.
Addison Fulton is the culture editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
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