Lorde has been admittedly disappointing in terms of coming up with the visuals for Solar Power. And arguably the most exciting thing she did for the promotion was a cover of Britney Spears’ retroactive climate change anthem “Break the Ice.” We get it, she wants to create a “clean,” carefree look that plays up Mother Nature as part of the reason she can be her Most Authentic Self, especially in the face of the Fame Monster. We understand. Like really and truly at this point—thanks to her fetish for a certain beach (maintaining its exclusivity via the fact that few will be able to afford the ticket to get to Waiheke Island’s Cactus Bay). The very same one that appears in her latest video in support of the album, “Secrets From a Girl (Who’s Seen It All).” A somewhat ballsy title coming from a person who didn’t grow up in the projects. Once again co-directed by Lorde and Joel Kefali, the scene is set upon a sleeping Lorde, who, among other nods to her past selves, seems to be posing in this prostrate position just to remind us of the cover for her sophomore record, Melodrama.
Being that Lorde has only given us three albums in total (which, yes, is a bit paltry considering what Taylor Swift can do in the same amount of years—or, once upon a time, Rihanna), she offers us just three versions of herself. And yes, if this were a Madonna video, there would be far more versions to offer, as we already saw done long ago at the 1999 MTV VMAs. In any case, with “Ella,” we have the signature crimson lipstick Lorde from her Pure Heroine days, the dressed in Madewell-approved clubwear Lorde from Melodrama and this sort of picnic-ready motherish Lorde from Solar Power. It is that first Lorde who comes up to the second and goads just a little bit, “Couldn’t wait to turn fifteen/Then you blink and it’s been ten years.” A bit harsh, Tai… but youths are always lordeing said youth over “olds” (read: anyone five years older). But soon its Motherly Lorde giving Goth Lorde advice as she consoles, “Baby girl, no one’s gonna feel the pain for you/You’re gonna love again, so just try staying open.” An impossible thing to tell somebody who feels all the feelings the way a teen girl does. “Luckily,” you grow up and become totally desensitized after getting used to the pain of disappointment that people cause, particularly in romantic relationships.
And then there is the moment when her younger selves hold her older self in solidarity. As though to remind that they’ll always be there when no one else is—if ever she feels totally alone (which, of course, we all are in our own head). To many, the idea that different versions of ourselves live on in the current one to “guide” us is a cherry thought (and one that also crops up in season five of Search Party). Because humans want to believe in the chrysalis-to-butterfly phenomenon for themselves as another way to find meaning in existence. Even though, more often than not, that sort of thing is limited to caterpillars.
As the video goes on, the one-trick pony effect of “three Lordes” starts to wear thin, with the trifecta standing in position as though they’re the Halliwell sisters from Charmed ready to cast a spell—and maybe they already have (how else could one explain the strange fame of this anti-pop star? With fellow “weirdo” Billie Eilish, it could at least be explained by her already having a brother in the music industry). Then the two eldest Lordes are holding either side of a jump rope for the youngest Lorde to get her jollies at the center of it all, as though regressing even further back into her childhood for something like comfort. In which case, thumb-sucking is always an option.
Or just getting Robyn to use some travel metaphors as she narrates toward the end, “Welcome to sadness. The temperature is unbearable until you face it. Thank you for flying with Strange Airlines. I will be your tour guide today. Your emotional baggage can be picked up at carousel number two. Please be careful so that it doesn’t fall onto someone you love.” The Lordes then proceed to do a dance together in a way that vaguely reminds one of Charli XCX’s choreo in the “Baby” video.
By the end, they’re sitting on the couch again, in a manner that harkens back to the Friends credits intro. And maybe that’s by design—for we all have to reconcile with being our own best friends (the pandemic lockdowns taught that hard lesson to many). Because, as RuPaul says, “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell you gon’ love somebody else?” What’s more, if you can’t learn from the mistakes of your past self, how the hell you gon’ “grow”? Although one positive thing that can be said for “lack of growth” is that it keeps you looking the same age.
