After bursting back onto the scene with the heartbreak-recovery anthem “Green Light” last week, Lorde subtly released the second single off her upcoming album Melodrama on Thursday—and it’s quite a switch-up. “Liability” is a dark, somber consideration of the relationships we accidentally mess up; for Lorde, who has faced the stress of fame at a young age, there’s a personal edge to the story. In the stripped-down track, only a haunting piano melody accompanies her voice, which finds a huskiness in its strain, seemingly pushing up against the brink of tears.
“The truth is I am a toy that people enjoy/ ‘Til all of the tricks don’t work anymore, and then they are bored of me,” she sings, modulating her voice to convey a certain despair. “I understand, I’m a liability. Get you wild, make you leave.”
Melodrama won’t be out in its entirety until June 16. Until then, we can toggle between Lorde’s two new opposing musical moods: the upbeat power of “Green Light” and the loneliness of “Liability.”
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