Lorde has unveiled “Hammer”, the final track to drop ahead of her upcoming album Virgin, set for release on June 27th.
Taking to social media to announce the single, she described it as “an ode to city life and horniness tbh,” noting that it opens the album despite being the last to arrive.
A teaser clip for the music video shows Lorde with braided pigtails and pigeons perched on her shoulders, offering a glimpse of the song’s lyrics: “There’s a heat in the pavement / My mercury’s raising.” The video, directed by Renell Medrano, was filmed in London’s Hampstead Heath.
“Hammer” features on the much-anticipated Virgin, the follow-up to 2021’s Solar Power.
This week, the Aotearoa pop star has announced a string of listening parties set for June 25th and 26th, with six events planned across Australia and New Zealand.
The rollout has been steady and inventive. Last month’s “Man of the Year” arrived with a striking new video, following April’s “What Was That”, which Lorde memorably previewed in New York’s Washington Square Park. After a surprise text blast to fans, so many turned up that police were called in to shut it down. (She returned a few hours later to perform the track anyway.)
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At home in New Zealand, Lorde’s been dialling things up. She hit the Aotearoa Music Awards, where she took out Single of the Year for her zeitgeist-grabbing Charli XCX collab, “Girl, so confusing featuring Lorde.” She also surprised fans with a surprise pop-up performance in a bathroom at Auckland’s YMCA.
Lorde spoke at length about Virgin in her Rolling Stone cover story, marking her first in-depth look at the record.
Lorde’s “Hammer” is out now.
