Pure Heroine is the debut studio album by New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde. It was released on 27 September 2013 by Universal, Lava, and Republic Records. After several unsuccessful sessions with songwriters, Lorde was paired with Joel Little by A&R representative Scott Maclachlan, who assisted with the album's production. Recording took place at Golden Age Studios in Auckland. Pure Heroine has been described as an electronica, electropop, dream pop, and gothic pop album with minimalist production, deep bass and programmed beats.
Pure Heroine received generally positive reviews from music critics, many of whom praised its songwriting, production, and Lorde's vocal performance. It appeared on several year-end critics' lists, and was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. The album deals with themes of youth and critiques mainstream culture, exploring materialism, fame, consumer culture and social status. Pure Heroine has been noted for its influence on modern pop music.
Lorde released the album's lead single, "Royals", to critical and commercial success; it was followed by "Tennis Court", "Team" and "Glory and Gore". The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 129,000 album-equivalent units, and topped the charts in Australia and New Zealand. Pure Heroine was one of 2014's best-selling albums. It was certified platinum in the United Kingdom, double platinum in Canada, triple platinum in Australia, as well as quintuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, selling more than 5 million copies worldwide. In November 2021, the extended version of Pure Heroine was pulled from all music streaming services, with the additional songs made available through the re-release of The Love Club EP and other singles on all streaming services.
Background and development
Since she was 14 years old, Lorde worked with Universal to develop her sound and artistic vision. She was signed to Universal by her manager, Scott Maclachlan, at age 13 and was paired with a succession of songwriters in unsuccessful attempts to develop her own music. Maclachlan told HitQuarters, "Fundamentally I think she understood that she was going to write her own music but would need someone to help with the production side of it." Lorde began writing songs on guitar at the age of "13 or 14". She was eventually paired with New Zealand writer and producer Joel Little in December 2011, and their working relationship clicked almost immediately. Lorde's debut extended play (2013's The Love Club EP) was praised by music critics, who compared the EP to work by other female alternative pop artists such as Sky Ferreira, Florence and the Machine, Lana Del Rey, and Grimes. It reached number one in New Zealand, number two in Australia, where it was certified five times platinum for shipments of 350,000 copies, and number twenty-three on the US Billboard 200.
Before beginning work on Pure Heroine, Lorde said that she intended her debut album to be a "cohesive" work. Like The Love Club EP, Pure Heroine was recorded with producer Joel Little at Golden Age Studios, a small studio without expensive technology, in Auckland, and was completed in less than a year. Initially, Lorde and Little played demos to A&R Scott Maclachlan in which they discussed songs, exchanged comments and changed aspects of the songs. She later showed the lyrics to James Lowe, her boyfriend at the time, saying that sharing things with him inspired her to write most of the album. Recording of the album was overseen by Lorde and Little, and was described by Maclachlan as a fairly-short process; most of what Lorde played for him ended up on the album. Lorde wanted to write her own music, and the album's content was co-written with Little. Ten songs were included in the album's final track listing, with seven or eight tracks not making the cut. Lorde and Maclachlan decided to keep the final track listing at ten to avoid "filler material."
Music and lyrics
Lorde's vocals on Pure Heroine have been noted for her range and powerful delivery. She said that she felt it essential for her voice to be the album's focus, since she was unfamiliar with playing instruments. The A.V. Club editor Kevin McFarland called the singer's voice the "alpha and omega of her talent. ... Her voice isn't booming or overpowering, but rather mystifying and alluring, both floating on its own in a sea of reverb and digital blips and awash in an army of chorused overdubs." According to PopMatterss Evan Sawdey described Lorde's vocals as being "unique and powerfully intriguing", while Billboard noted her vocals for being "smoky and restrained".