Lorde has dropped the “Hammer,” giving fans the final taste of her upcoming fourth album before its official arrival next week.
With Virgin scheduled for release on June 27, Lorde took to social media earlier this week to reveal that one final single would be dropping in the lead-up – joining the recently-released cuts “What Was That” and “Man of the Year.”
On Instagram Wednesday (June 18), Lorde explained that the new song would be titled “Hammer.” “First song on the album,” she wrote in her caption. “An ode to city life and horniness tbh.”
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Arriving on Friday (June 20), the euphoric new single features co-production by Lorde and Jim-E Stack, and launches with an electronic passage which has drawn similarities to Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” by some online commentators.
Lyrically, the track also references Lorde’s previous comments surrounding the forthcoming recording, including that of rebirth, and also of her relationship toward gender – as evidenced in the line, “Some days I’m a woman, some days I’m a man.”
The line echoes the singer’s recent comments about fostering a close friendship with Chappell Roan in the past year, with the pair also discussing Lorde’s changing relationship with gender. “[Chappell Roan] asked me this … She was like, ‘So, are you nonbinary now?’” Lorde recalled.
“I was like, ‘I’m a woman except for the days when I’m a man,’” the singer continued. “I know that’s not a very satisfying answer, but there’s a part of me that is really resistant to boxing it up.”
Gender is one of several topics Lorde has promised to explore on Virgin, which drops June 27 via Republic Records featuring additional production from Fabiana Palladino, Andrew Aged, Buddy Ross, Dan Nigro and Dev Hynes of Blood Orange. The singer-songwriter has also said that the album was informed by her experiences with disordered eating, quitting birth control and breaking off a longterm relationship.
“THE COLOUR OF THE ALBUM IS CLEAR,” she described the project when announcing it back in April. “LIKE BATHWATER, WINDOWS, ICE, SPIT. FULL TRANSPARENCY. THE LANGUAGE IS PLAIN AND UNSENTIMENTAL. THE SOUNDS ARE THE SAME WHEREVER POSSIBLE. I WAS TRYING TO SEE MYSELF, ALL THE WAY THROUGH. I WAS TRYING TO MAKE A DOCUMENT THAT REFLECTED MY FEMININITY: RAW, PRIMAL, INNOCENT, ELEGANT, OPENHEARTED, SPIRITUAL, MASC.”
The release of “Hammer’ will also be accompanied by a Renell Medrano-directed music video, which will premiere via YouTube at 9am ET on Friday, June 20.
Listen to “Hammer” below.
