Melodrama: How It Feels To Be Utterly Alone In A Room Full Of People. The second studio album by singer Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor, otherwise known as “Lorde”, is not just a collection of pop ballads infused with electronic synths. Melodrama is deeply intimate while maintaining a unique style of self-deprecating wit and teenager-esque exaggerations (otherwise dubbed as ‘Melodrama’.) The backdrop of Melodrama is a tale as old as time, but one wound that always feels fresh whenever you recall — that feeling of being alone. Lorde had recently turned 18 when she began creating Melodrama, a period often marked with graduating high school, and moving away from family — one she remarks on throughout the entire album. Lorde’s loneliness is not just felt, but slowly became as you reminisce upon your own life experiences. Although it sounds sad, Lorde manages to wrap you up in a gentle hug beneath all the layers of pity; the upbeat sonics of the more well known songs that weave in between the tracklist feeling like a peaceful reprieve for your ears as you cope with the depression fueled “Liability” and “Writer In The Dark”. The house party landscape imbedded with the albums lyricism and visuals is not just by accident. Lorde remarked that she often traveled in large cities, but felt like a complete loner. She observed all that happened, but never let herself get entwined with what she saw, settling for occasional retreats to rental houses to step away from noise. This album is not just all sadness and isolation however, as it operates on a cycle. You enter the house party with the opening track, “Green Light”, and party through the night with ghosts, sadness, and monsters, coping and facing all of your worries and regrets, before learning that you deserve happiness in the second last track, “Liability (Reprise)”, and seeing the morning light in “Perfect Places”, the final track. Melodrama is a masterpiece that helps beat you down but lets you get back up near the end, with a smile on your face and tears staining your cheeks. It’s not a happy ending, but a realization — one that everyone is entitled to. Standout Tracks: Green Light, Sober, The Lourve, Writer In The Dark, Supercut, and Perfect Places.