Lorde drops the “Hammer” on latest single

Lorde has released her third and final single, “Hammer”, in the lead up to her “comeback” album, “Virgin”. The sexually-charged track follows the album’s two previous singles: the eclectic “What Was That” and the somber “Man Of The Year”.

“Hammer”, along with the two previous singles, signifies a welcome return to form for the New Zealand native, whose previous studio effort (2021’s “Solar Power”) veered more into pop territory than her fan base was used to. “Hammer” immediately pulls you in with synths you can literally picture bouncing back and forth between your left and right speakers.

The song begins with the singer admiring someone that she finds attractive, tension rising (“There's a heat in the pavement, my mercury's raising”). Tunnel vision closes in and when she sings the line, “When you're holding a hammer, everything looks like a nail” (euphemisms, folks!) it’s almost primal and borderline obscene.

The fountain’s mist combines with sweat (“The mist from the fountain is kissing my neck / The liquid crystal is in my grip”). The person of her affection has a sharp tongue (“Anyone with a snake tongue, I show 'em the chambers of my-”) A brief pause in the lyrics followed by her uttering the word “heart” in an echoey lower register.

In the pre-chorus, Lorde acknowledges this person isn’t one to settle down, but may make an exception just for her (“Now I know you don't deal much in love and affection / But I really do think there could be a connection”).

The chorus finds her ready for intimacy with this person (“I might have been born again / I'm ready to feel like I don't have thе answers / There's pеace in the madness over our heads / Let it carry me o-o-o-o-on / On, ah ah”). The idea of being “born again” definitely has a double meaning, as the upcoming album not only explores intimacy, but also sees Lorde (born Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor) returning to the unconventional pop that she does so well.

The second verse places Lorde on Canal Street to get her ears pierced, all while wistfully thinking this brooding person will like her in return (“Today, I'll go to Canal Street, they're piercing my ears / I'm making a wish when the needle goes in”). The next line has interesting imagery; the singer wants this person to take a mental picture -while juxtaposing “reading” it back to her (“Take an aura picture, read it and tell me who I am (Show me who I am)”). The bridge finds Lorde surrendering to her emotions, wanting this person to consume her (“Let it break me down till I'm just a wreck / Till I'm just a voice living in your head …But I’ve sent you a postcard from the edge / The edge”).

Lorde’s fourth studio album, “Virgin”, will be released June 27 through Universal Music New Zealand and Republic Records. In support of her new album, the eclectic singer will embark on the “Ultrasound World Tour”, spanning North America and Europe. The tour begins September 17, 2025 in Austin, TX and will conclude on December 17, 2025 in Brooklyn NY.

Listen to “Hammer” here: https://open.spotify.com/track/5XpZFOSIvQlHLZV39uHNkW?si=6J0wcSxdQBymT0pwfIhZMg

Lorde. photo courtesy of Victoria Jones / Shutterstock