The LP follows 2021’s Solar Power and was executive produced by Lorde and Jim-E Stack
Lorde‘s long-awaited fourth album is here. Virgin is available to stream on all platforms now.
The Grammy winner’s Virgin is the singer-songwriter’s first album in four years, following up the indie-folk LP Solar Power. She wrote and produced every song with Jim-E Stack, and the album features additional production and writing from Dev Hynes, Daniel Nigro, and Fabiana Palladino. She first teased the project in April with the single “What Was That,” a huge arena-pop break-up anthem. Lorde followed the lead single with two more: “Man of the Year” and “Hammer.”
In her Rolling Stone cover story, she revealed that the bulk of the album was written from late 2023 through 2024, between London and New York City. The writing process began after a transformative few years where she was recovering from an eating disorder and processing the end of her long-term relationship. Lorde was also in a period of self-discovery, realizing the expansiveness of her gender identity during this time, and described the LP’s sound as percussive and the lyrics as very physical.
“I think coming more into my body, I came into an understanding of the grotesque nature of it and the glory and all these things,” she explained. “It’s right on the edge of gross. I often really tried to hit this kind of gnarliness or grossness. ‘You tasted my underwear.’ I’ve never heard that in a song, you know? It felt like the right way to tell this whole chapter.”
This fall, Lorde will embark on her Ultrasound World Tour in support of the album. She will be joined by Blood Orange, the Japanese House, and Nilüfer Yanya on select dates. The tour has been selling out, with Lorde adding additional dates in each city.
