On my stereo this week: ‘Homemade Dynamite’ by Lorde.

Okay, you might be getting the impression that by now I’m having a synth pop kind of week. Having solely focussed on an array of Australian acts this week, I couldn’t help myself and decided to revisit another one of my favoured upcoming artists, but this time from across the Tasman Sea, our New Zealand cousin, Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor, aka Lorde and her song Homemade Dynamite.

With some very interesting synth sounds and her ability to stay true to her minimalistic strengths, Lorde wrote Homemade Dynamite, a track that almost feels out of place on Melodrama. The opening verse with that cheeky reference to ‘a couple rebel top gun pilots’ really sets the mood for a fun and reckless song that it very quickly builds up to be.

Lorde said in 2017 of Homemade Dynamite that, “Sometimes it is just about having your arms around your friend’s shoulders and being drunk and being into the same song.” I actually quite like that explanation of celebrating, truly engrossed in the moment, which is probably why I really love this song, particular her black humour and that one amazing line in the song, where she simulates her heart exploding like dynamite, “Now you know it’s really gonna blow/ Poooof!” 

Interestingly, Homemade Dynamite was I believe the opening song on her Melodrama World Tour. Well, it was at least at her Melbourne show in late November of 2017. In my review of her show I said that when those first few bars gushed from Lorde’s lips, it was clear from the deafening scream from the Melbourne faithful that something special was about to happen. It had been three and a half years since Lorde was last in Australia and it was as if she hasn’t skipped a beat. At one point midway through the show Lorde paused and said “Fill me in Melbourne what’s going on? Have you been dating? The banter continued and you could truly feel the communal love for, in Lorde’s words, our New Zealand cousin.

But anyway, I’ve waffled on far too much already about Lorde, so please check out this special Vevo concert stripped back version of Homemade Dynamite. Enjoy!

Photo credit: The header image of Lorde performing at the 2014 Lollapalooza music festival is used under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 license. I am not the uploader of You Tube clips embedded here.