The Love Club EP
The Love Club EP is the debut extended play (EP) by New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde. At the age of 12, she was discovered by Universal Music Group scout Scott MacLachlan, and began writing songs. In December 2011, MacLachlan paired Lorde with producer Joel Little, and within three weeks, the pair had co-written and produced all five songs on the EP. In November 2012, Lorde self-released the EP for free download via SoundCloud. On 8 March 2013 the record was commercially released by Universal Music Group and Virgin Records.
"The Love Club" redirects here. For other uses, see Love Club (disambiguation).The Love Club EP
Golden Age (Auckland, New Zealand)
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An indie rock-influenced electronica and electropop album, The Love Club EP was well received by music critics, who praised its production and compared its style to works by Sky Ferreira, Florence and the Machine and Lana Del Rey. The release peaked at number two in New Zealand and Australia and was certified platinum and 9 times platinum in those two countries respectively. In the US, the record charted at number 23 on the Billboard 200 chart and has sold 60,000 copies as of August 2013. To promote The Love Club EP, Lorde performed during various concerts, and "Royals" was released as a single.
Background and production[edit]
Lorde was discovered by A&R representative Scott MacLachlan of Universal Music Group (UMG) at the age of 12, when MacLachlan saw footage of Lorde performing at a school talent show in Auckland, New Zealand. At the age of 13, Lorde started writing songs herself. MacLachlan unsuccessfully tried to set up Lorde with several songwriters and producers to help her with production.[3] Ultimately, he paired Lorde with Joel Little in December 2011, when she had just turned 15. Little was impressed by Lorde's vocal performance and songwriting abilities, and he built songs with musical structures based on Lorde's lyrics.[4]
The pair recorded songs at Little's Golden Age Studios in Morningside, Auckland.[5] Lorde took inspiration from hip hop-influenced music artists, such as Lana Del Rey, during the writing process, yet criticised their "bullshit" references to "expensive alcohol, beautiful clothes and beautiful cars".[6] Within a week, Lorde had finished recording the tracks "Royals", "Bravado" and "Biting Down" during a school break.[7] The pair also recorded two other songs for the EP: "Million Dollar Bills" and "The Love Club". Lorde wrote the lyrics, while Little composed the melodies and played all the instruments, including drums, guitars and synthesisers. In total, the pair took three weeks to finish The Love Club EP.[4]
Composition[edit]
The Love Club EP consists of five songs, written by Lorde (credited to her birth-name Ella Yelich-O'Connor) and Little.[8] The Nelson Mail's Nick Ward described the EP as "indie-flavoured electronica" and detailed Lorde's voice as "smoky", while an editor of AllMusic regarded it as "five evocative, electro-pop meditations on life, love, and the eternal joys and pains of youth, providing a sultry, sinewy soundtrack to summer".[9][8] Meanwhile, Chris Schulz from The New Zealand Herald said Lorde's voice "seems to come from someone twice her age".[10] Critics compared the EP's musical style to works by Sky Ferreira,[8] Florence and the Machine,[8] and Lana Del Rey.[11] Editor Jim Pinckney from New Zealand Listener opined that Lorde's songs are structured like short stories.[6]
The Love Club EP opens with the chamber pop song "Bravado".[10] Inspired by Kanye West's song "Dark Fantasy",[12] it talks about Lorde's feigned confidence as she prepared to enter the music industry.[13] "Royals" and "Million Dollar Bills" are two tracks that criticise the glamorous lifestyle of the rich;[11] the former combines subgenres of pop, including art pop[14] and electropop,[15] and also incorporates R&B,[16] while the latter is a hybrid of pop and alternative rock with hip hop influences.[4] The title track of the EP, "The Love Club", discusses the befriending of "a bad crowd".[9] The Love Club EP concludes with the trip hop-influenced drum and bass number "Biting Down",[16][17] featuring "futuristic war drum thump".[10] For the US iTunes Store September 2013 edition of The Love Club EP, "Royals" was replaced by "Swingin Party", a cover version of The Replacements' song.[18]
Commercial performance[edit]
The Love Club EP debuted and peaked on the New Zealand Albums Chart at number two on 18 March 2013. It stayed on the chart for a total of 41 weeks.[50] The EP became the fifth best-selling album of the year in New Zealand[51] was certified platinum by the Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ) for shipping more than 15,000 units in the country.[52] In Australia, the record appeared on the ARIA Singles Chart at number two.[53] The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) certified The Love Club EP nonuple platinum for shipments of more than 630,000 copies in Australia.[54] In the US, the record peaked at number 23 on the Billboard 200 and had sold 60,000 copies by August 2013;[55] it became the 182nd best-selling album of the year in the US.[56]