Stoned at the Nail Salon

“Stoned at the Nail Salon” is the latest single from New Zealand singer and songwriter Lorde and her upcoming third studio album “Solar Power“, which is due to be released on the 20th August 2021 through Universal Records.

Unlike Lorde’s first single from “Solar Power” of the same name, “Stoned at the Nail Salon” sees Lorde more sombre, quiet and introspective in comparison to “Solar Power” which was bright, upbeat and almost carefree. Speaking to Zane Lowe on New Music Daily on Apple Music, Lorde reflected on the song’s meaning and lyrics about ageing:

“It’s sort of a weird song to even to talk about, like… it’s about the passage of time. Which is kind of a weird thing to even think about and sort of… be in conversation with. But, thinking about me… at sixteen… my parents getting older… sort of all these big, heavy things. Really confronting my mortality.”

The song features backing vocals from artists Phoebe Bridgers and Clairo, which Lorde also spoke about to Zane Lowe:

“This one is pretty much all Jack just playing everything – playing bass, playing beautiful guitar – and then I arranged all the vocals, had Phoebe, Claire, and all the boys come and sing. But yeah, it’s definitely one of the quietest, most introspective, and internal moments on the record.”

However, on the day of the single’s release, Lorde sent an email to her fans titled “Dissociation whilst getting pedicures”, breaking down what inspired the “Stoned at the Nail Salon“:

“I started writing this in the first six months after stopping touring for Melo. I was so tired by the end, I’d been so busy for so long, and I remember at the end of that tour saying to people I knew “I’m just going to go home and get bored” — because it had been two years since I had been at a loose end, bored out of my brain going from the couch to the fridge, and I was craving that. The first couple months of it were incredible— I’d run a bath at 10am and eat a slice of cake in it! My bandmate Jimmy and I would go out for these long lunches on Mondays and drink wine! But eventually, of course, the insecurity that this was my life now, that I wasn’t a titan of industry, but someone who just… cooked and walked the dog and gardened crept in. I was starting to fall out of step with the times culturally, I didn’t have my finger firmly on the pulse for the first time in my life, and I could feel the next round of precocious teenagers starting to come up, and I felt insecure that they were gonna eat my lunch, so to speak. Was I over the hill?!! This song was borne out of that feeling. I was sure that I was building a beautiful life for myself, but I wasn’t sure if that life was going to satisfy the same thirsty, fearless person who could tear apart a festival stage or be in seven countries in seven days. I know now that as hard as I try to run towards or away one of the sides of my life, they’re both very much who I am. It’s jarring to move between them, but that dichotomy is me. And writing this song was a real step toward embracing that. It’s almost comical to be writing this from a hotel room where my life is busier than ever, my iCal is wall to wall from wake to sleep, and of course I’m daydreaming about cooking and gardening and romanticising the greener grass once again… SO IT GOES. […] I hope you love this song, and this side to the album, and I hope if you’re someone who also has a habit of tiptoeing up to a deep thought then doubting yourself or dissociating, you know you’re not alone.

There is currently no music video for “Stoned at the Nail Salon“, but there is a music visualiser available on Lorde’s YouTube channel.

Read the lyrics to “Stoned at the Nail Salon” here.