Lorde Announces Summer Release for ‘Solar Power’ Album, Tour Dates for Next Spring

The dog days of summer will come with a silver lining for Lorde fans — the release of her third album and first in four years, “Solar Power,” coming August 20.

The sun won’t be quite so high in the sky, meanwhile, when Lorde finally hits the road. She’ll be touring behind the album in the spring, with North American dates starting at Nashville’s Opry House on April 3, 2022 and wrapping up at the Santa Barbara Bowl May 7. Her L.A show will be May 5 at the Shrine. Tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. local time on Friday for the tour, which has New Zealand and Australian dates preceding the American gigs, and a trip through Europe following her U.S. dates.

A 12-track song list was released for “Solar Power,” the title track of which came out to preview the album 11 days ago, timed to a solar eclipse. Some of the song titles, like the closing “Oceanic Feeling,” confirm that the singer is in a very summery and not-so-black-clad mode on her first album since 2017’s “Melodrama,” with producer Jack Antonoff back on board for the follow-up.

“The album is a celebration of the natural world, an attempt at immortalizing the deep, transcendent feelings I have when I’m outdoors,” Lorde said in a statement accompanying the announcement. “In times of heartache, grief, deep love, or confusion, I look to the natural world for answers. I’ve learned to breathe out, and tune in. This is what came through. … The first song (‘Solar Power’) is the first of the rays. It’s about that infectious, flirtatious summer energy that takes hold of us all, come June.”

If you had intentions of buying it on CD, you’re out of luck. The announcement says that Lorde, “to honor the natural world,” will release it in “a first-of-its kind, discless format. An eco-conscious Music Box will be available for purchase as an alternative to a CD” for retail, with extra printed content and a high-quality download that will include two exclusive bonus tracks. Said Lorde, “I decided early on in the process of making this album that I also wanted to create an environmentally kind, forward-thinking alternative to the CD. I wanted this Music Box product to be similar in size, shape and price to a CD, to live alongside it in a retail environment, but be something which stands apart and that’s committed to the evolving nature of a modern album.”

However, Lorde is not going altogether disc-less in the “Solar Power” rollout. Although vinyl was not mentioned as part of the announcement, her webstore shows three different LP versions of the album on sale (the most deluxe of which sold out within minutes of the album announcement).

The album track list:

1. The Path2. Solar Power3. California4. Stoned in the Nail Salon5. Fallen Fruit6. Secrets From a Girl (Who’s Seen It All)7. The Man with An Axe8. Dominoes9. Big Star10. Leader of a New Regime11. Mood Ring12. Oceanic Feeling

Lorde’s tour dates:

February 26 Christchurch, NZ Electric Avenue Festival February 27 Upper Moutere, NZ Neudorf Vineyards March 1 Wellington, NZ Days Bay March 2 Havelock North, NZ Black Barn Vineyards March 4 New Plymouth, NZ Bowl of Brooklands March 5 Auckland, NZ Outerfields March 10 Brisbane, AU Riverstage March 12 Melbourne, AU SMMB March 15 Sydney, AU Aware Super Theatre March 19 Perth, AU Belvoir Amphitheater April 3 Nashville, TN Opry House April 5 Detroit, MI Masonic Temple Theatre April 7 Montreal, QC Salle Willfrid Pelletier April 8 Toronto, ON Meridian Hall April 12 Boston, MA Boch Center – Wang Theatre April 15 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena April 16 Washington, DC The Anthem April 18 New York, NY Radio City Music Hall April 20 Philadelphia, PA The Met April 22 Chicago, IL The Chicago Theatre April 25 Minneapolis, MN The Armory April 27 Denver, CO Mission Ballroom April 30 Seattle, WA WaMu Theatre May 1 Portland, OR Theater of the Clouds May 3 San Francisco, CA Bill Graham Civic Auditorium May 5 Los Angeles, CA Shrine Auditorium May 7 Santa Barbara, CA Santa Barbara Bowl May 25 Leeds, UK O2 Academy May 26 Edinburgh, UK Usher Hall May 28 Manchester, UK O2 Victoria Warehouse May 30 Birmingham, UK O2 Academy June 1 London, UK Roundhouse June 2 London, UK Roundhouse June 7 Paris, FR Casino de Paris June 8 Amsterdam, NL AFAS Live June 10 Barcelona, ES Primavera Sound June 13 Zurich, CH Halle 622 June 14 Munich, DE Zenith June 16 Rome, IT Cavea – Auditorium Parco della Musica June 17 Villafranca di Verona, IT Castello di Villafranca June 18 Sibenik, HR Saint Mihovil Fortress June 21 Cologne, DE Open Air am Tanzbrunnen June 23 Berlin, DE Verti Music Hall