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“Pure Heroine” has a “Royal” debut

Album+cover+from+MTV
Album cover from MTV

A sultrier Ellie Goulding and a tamer Lana Del Rey, Lorde’s raw and smoky voice layered over cascading acoustics combine spectacularly in a soft electro-pop blend that mirrors indie band the XX in her album debut, “Pure Heroine.”

What’s most impressive about the New Zealand native is her age. At only 16, rising songstress Lorde a.k.a Ella Yelich-O’connor, distinguishes herself as the antithesis of her top 40 peers.

While overproduced and unintellegent “Party in the USA” transformed 16-year-old Miley Cyrus from Disney good-girl into a raunchy mess, Lorde shows us she’s already above it all with lyrics like “I’m kind of over getting told to throw my hands up in the air—so there,” in her song “Team.”

Fan favorite “Royals”, the hit single responsible for Lorde’s skyrocket to fame, then sticks it to pop culture as it criticizes the lives of excess that it celebrates. The first verse of the song details Lorde’s humble, small town lifestyle growing up in Auckland, New Zealand which she then contrasts to the ostentatious lifestyle of the rich and famous to show her disconnect from pop culture.

Yet despite the enticement of glamour, Lorde reaffirms to her audience that she isn’t caught up in whatever pop is selling—an attitude which she clearly believes makes her deserving of being titled a “heroine.”

Even without a mention of clubbing or dance craze “twerking,” Lorde still manages to nab a No. 1 billboard spot—a truly remarkable feat in an music industry ruled by the rapid fire release of autotuned renditions devoured by teeny-boppers. Though Lorde’s “I’m better than pop culture” message may come off a bit condescending, her rebelliousness is extremely refreshing.

“Pure Heroine”’s best tracks include “Ribs”, a lamentful breeze of echoing vocals that are almost hypnotic, and “Tennis Courts”, an intoxicating beat which features snappy lyrics like, “It’s a new art form showing people how little we care.”

Though her complaints of teenagedom in almost every song is a tad repetitive, “Pure Heroine” is still well deserving of all the attention it has been receiving.

Overall, the entire album flows effortlessly. It’s the kind of music you want to sit back to, close your eyes to and dance to.

Lorde’s voice is absolutely mesmerizing.

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Katie Settos, Creative Director
While many students at Staples spent their summers bumming it at Compo beach, Katie Settos was busy hiking the tallest mountain in Northern Europe. Katie spent three weeks of her summer on an action packed, challenging, and frankly dangerous backpacking trip through Norway; but that’s just the type of girl she is. No challenge is too big of a challenge for Settos, even if it means spending six hours climbing a slippery glacier in sub zero temperatures. Katie was totally up for test of spending half of her summer completely disconnected from the rest of the world: “I really like the outdoors, even though I’m not a sporty person.” Settos explained that her backpacking trip was one of the best experiences of her life, and that she was so glad she decided to go on it, “I just love a good adventure.” When Katie isn’t spending her summers going on adventures all over the globe, you can most likely find her designing fashion and sketching. Katie is a dedicated artist and describes her time drawing as “a distraction from school and stress.” Art is her happy place, a time where she has a peace of mind. Katie’s passion for fashion is fitting for her position at Inklings as the Creative Director. She gets to design, assemble, and put her own creative twist on almost every issue. So if you ever see Settos in the hall, make sure compliment on her amazing art abilities that help make Inklings what it is today, but also give her chocolate peanut butter ice cream; it’s a staple in her everyday routine.

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