Lorde’s Pure Heroine: Is It Still Relevant 10 Years After Its Release?

2013 was a year whose pop culture was characterized by Tumblr, internet grunge, teen angst, and albums carrying similar sounds and motifs as singer/songwriter Lorde’s debut record: Pure Heroine. This month marks the 10 year anniversary of the album’s initial release, as well as the beginning of Lorde’s ongoing, successful career.

Nearly an entire decade later, the double Grammy winning Pure Heroine became the most streamed female made album released in the year 2013, surpassing long renowned artists including Beyonce and Katy Perry. What is it about this album that keeps people- from dedicated fans to major radio stations- still listening today?

Pure Heroine’s dreamlike yet angsty tone is magnetic to its teenage and young adult target audience. Lorde’s lyrics exemplify the mental imbalance of feeling indestructible, power in newfound independence, and imperial in a teenage setting, yet at the end of the day, afraid and alone. Songs such as “Royals” and “Tennis Court” in comparison to “Ribs” and “White Teeth Teens” show this push and pull of feelings.

The album tries to remain careless, cool, and collected, but is slashed with sudden emotional outpours of the pains of growing up and loneliness in social anxiety. The album’s incredible relatability combined with its catchy minimalist rhythms was bound to make a hugely successful first release for Lorde, who was 16 at the time.

When listening to Pure Heroine all the way through, continuous metaphors and musical elements make the album addicting. These pulled the album together for a literally and audibly cohesive 10 song tracklist. Though some of the rhetoric used throughout the album is corny or cliche, most of it makes sense for its time. For example, listeners can likely take note of the driving/cars metaphor. Mentioned in songs such as “400 Lux”, driving is a new experience for teenagers, building a metaphor for independence and the fear that comes along with it.

The siren-like effect at the beginning of this song brings a sense of danger and excitement to listeners. Less metaphorical, though still evident, the thrills and fears that accompany growing up are mentioned often, bringing a sense of honesty and vulnerability to the album. Listeners can trust Lorde, she’s just like them.

“Ribs”, undoubtedly the most memorable and emotional track on the album, embodies these elements. The back and forth from slow to fast pace of this song is gripping to listeners. While the ambient synth at beginning of the song feels like entering a dream, the almost frantic electric drum beats mixed with raw and freeing vocals feels like running away from it. In this sense, the audible experimentality of Pure Heroine adds to the album.

The, for the most part, cohesive electro-pop beats are satisfying to the ear. However in some places, it falls short. Some sound effects were unnecessary, as well as vocal augmentation that really just takes away from Lorde’s impressive voice.

The powerful voice, storytelling, and surrounding musical experience of Pure Heroine has enabled the album to transcend generations and outlive its time period. For its original listeners, the album perfectly encapsulated the whirlpool of feelings that come along with adolescence. When the album was released, many fans were likely at the beginning of their adolescence. 10 years later as they approach its end, perhaps this album stirs notalgia in a comforting manner.

Additionally, this generation lost so much of their adolescence to the COVID-19 pandemic. Maybe, listening to albums such as Pure Heroine is a way of reclaiming it. Lorde’s lyrics validate teen’s feelings that they missed out on the opportunity to fully express as they approach their childhood’s end.

So, what does Pure Heroine mean in 2023? For Lorde fans, especially those who lost a large portion of their young adulthood to COVID-19, it is reminiscent of what they missed out on, in the absence of the cherry black lipstick and soft pastels of the early 2010s. When examining Pure Heroine in the context of the rest of Lorde’s more recent discography, a sequence of growing up can be seen: it makes sense. However, Pure Heroine has a musical and emotional value that allows it to stand relevant in any decade it is placed in.