Lorde’s What Was That: Teenage Punk with Adult Regrets

Set your clock to it. Lorde is back with her new single What Was That, which comes 4 years after her previous release Solar Power. Lorde has a knack of putting records out 4 years apart from each other…2013, 2017, 2021 and now 2025. Each one is a banger and finds Lorde totally redefining herself and her sound. What Was That finds Lorde going over familiar ground with a sound closer to Pure Heroine than her more recent work. Let’s take a closer look at what is under the hood of one of the most anticipated releases of 2025.

If Solar Power was Lorde’s chill beach record, What Was That goes back to her sharp, electric punk roots. Hard bass lines and dirty synth screeches lay the foundation for a rave / club influenced punk track. Much like Pure Heroine there is not a ton of instrumentation on the track, but what is there creates this sharp cutting vibe that inspires you to both crush on the dance floor and listen to Fugazi. Musically, the track is close to Green Light or Tennis Court, which are both hard hitting, but also fit well in the club.

Lyrically is where Lorde is closer to Solar Power than her early work. Even though there are drug illusions, smoking references, lyrics about making out and an explosion of youthful dare and danger…there is a wistful looking back. Much of Solar Power is Lorde going through the lessons she has learned looking back at her teenage years of stardom. What Was That starts with Lorde looking back on a love affair at 17 and searching for meaning in what happened. In the end, the drug fuelled hook-up continues to stick with her not because of who she was with, but what it represents. That represents escape, but now she is faced with the ugly reality of life. In reality she misses that freedom and wants escape from the loneliness of the city.

This lack of connection within the city is in stark contrast to the freedom and connection with nature in Solar Power. This could represent a larger lack of connection as headlines are dominated by wars, deportations, demonising trans people and isolationism. The hope and beauty one found in Solar Power has been replaced with longing, loneliness and despair. This is Lorde at her surgical best and shows that she will never grow out of her punk roots.

Listen to What Was That