The song is all about things changing and realizing it’s time to change with them. As a result, she begins to face a lot of existential questions, which she deals with by first getting high and then getting a manicure. “Stoned at the Nail Salon” is about how, compared to touring the world, Lorde’s domestic life is slow. Making such a monumental change can be quite the existential ordeal, which is where “Stoned at the Nail Salon” comes in. The song’s refrain encourages listeners to look back on and root out their own old habits. The song’s refrain is “Don’t want that California love,” where Lorde looks back on her rise to fame and how her life changed as a result of that, and decides she doesn’t want to go back to that way of living. “California” does something similar, with Lorde saying goodbye to the Hollywood lifestyle she had following the success of “Royals”and the Grammy it won her. But this time around, she tells us she won’t be making another album for wallowing, hence the reason she isn’t our “saviour.” Instead, she says, “Let’s hope the sun will show us the path.” This path is the first step in the journey it’s about recognizing previous sadness and looking for a better way forward. It also feels like a confession about past sadness and Lorde acknowledging that her music in the past has been primarily sad. Overall, “The Path” feels like Lorde reflecting on her life as a celebrity and what she has been up to since we last saw her. Despite its sad lyrics, the song does have a hopeful undertone to it. The first track from “Solar Power” is “The Path,” which lays the groundwork for the theme of the journey towards happiness. That being said, a good portion of the songs from the album seem to be about the journey towards happiness and the revelation that is in the process of becoming happy. “Mood Ring” plainly states “ I can’t feel a thing,” and “California” is all about not wanting that “California love.” “Solar Power” isn’t all sunshine. “The Path” includes standout lyrics such as “’Cause we’re all broken and sad,” “Can’t find the dreams we had,” and “Saviour is not me.” These aren’t exactly the most uplifting words in the English Dictionary. Some of its songs and lyrics are, in fact, pretty bleak. “Solar Power” is admittedly more upbeat and hopeful than Lorde’s previous album, “Melodrama.” But it’s still not a completely “happy” album.
As a result of this, “Solar Power” is very much becoming known as Lorde’s “happy” album - but is it really that happy?
This isn’t speculation people have gone online to explicitly state that they don’t like “Solar Power” because it’s not as sad as her previous albums. With the release of Lorde’s third album, there was a fair amount of backlash and criticism from fans who were shocked that their favorite sad girl was now releasing “happy” music.