''The Love Club EP'' is the debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(EP) by New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde. At the age of 12, she was discovered by

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

scout Scott MacLachlan, and began writing songs. In December 2011, MacLachlan paired Lorde with producer

Joel Little Joel Little (born 13 February 1983) is a New Zealand record producer, musician and Grammy Award-winning songwriter.

, 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 SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...

. On 8 March 2013 the record was commercially released by Universal Music Group and

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), Tom Newman. It ...

. An

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

-influenced electronica and electropop album, ''The Love Club EP'' was well received by

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

, who praised its production and compared its style to works by

Sky Ferreira Sky Tonia Ferreira (born July 8, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, model, and actress. As a teenager, Ferreira began uploading videos on Myspace of herself singing songs she had written, which led to her discovery by producers Bloods ...

, Florence and the Machine and

Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia, with frequent r ...

. The release peaked at number two in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and Australia, and was certified platinum and 9 times platinum in those two countries respectively. In the US, the record charted at number twenty-three 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

Lorde was discovered by A&R representative Scott MacLachlan of

(UMG) at the age of 12, when MacLachlan saw footage of Lorde performing at a school

talent show A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

, 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. Ultimately, he paired Lorde with

Joel Little Joel Little (born 13 February 1983) is a New Zealand record producer, musician and Grammy Award-winning songwriter.

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. The pair recorded songs at Little's Golden Age Studios in Morningside,

. Lorde took inspiration from hip hop-influenced music artists, such as

, during the writing process, yet criticised their "bullshit" references to "expensive alcohol, beautiful clothes and beautiful cars". Within a week, Lorde had finished recording the tracks " Royals", "

Bravado Bravado may refer to: * ''The Bravados ''The Bravados'' is a 1958 American Western film (color by DeLuxe) directed by Henry King, starring Gregory Peck and Joan Collins. The CinemaScope film was based on a novel of the same name, written b ...

" and "Biting Down" during a school break. 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,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

s and synthesisers. In total, the pair took three weeks to finish ''The Love Club EP''.

Composition

''The Love Club EP'' consists of five songs, written by Lorde (credited to her birth-name Ella Yelich-O'Connor) and Little. ''

The Nelson Mail ''The Nelson Mail'' is a 4-day a week newspaper in Nelson, New Zealand owned by media business Stuff Ltd. It was founded in 1866 as ''The Nelson Evening Mail''; the first edition was published on 5 March 1866. It absorbed another local paper, '' ...

''s Nick Ward described the EP as "indie-flavoured electronica" and detailed Lorde's voice as "smoky", while an editor of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

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". Meanwhile, Chris Schulz from ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspaper ...

'' said Lorde's voice "seems to come from someone twice her age". Critics compared the EP's musical style to works by

, Florence and the Machine, and Lana Del Rey. Editor Jim Pinckney from '' New Zealand Listener'' opined that Lorde's songs are structured like

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

. ''The Love Club EP'' opens with the

chamber pop Chamber pop (or Chamber rock; also called baroque pop and sometimes conflated with orchestral pop or symphonic pop) is a music genre that combines rock music with the intricate use of strings, horns, piano, and vocal harmonies, and other compo ...

song "

". Inspired by

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

's song " Dark Fantasy", it talks about Lorde's feigned confidence as she prepared to enter the music industry. " Royals" and "Million Dollar Bills" are two tracks that criticise the glamorous lifestyle of the rich; the former combines subgenres of pop, including

art pop Art pop (also typeset art-pop or artpop) is a loosely defined style of pop music influenced by art theories as well as ideas from other art mediums, such as fashion, fine art, cinema, and avant-garde literature. The genre draws on pop art's ...

and electropop, and also incorporates R&B, while the latter is a hybrid of pop and

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

with hip hop influences. The title track of the EP, "The Love Club", discusses the befriending of "a bad crowd". ''The Love Club EP'' concludes with the

trip hop Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with " downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic fusion of hip hop and electronica with slow tem ...

-influenced drum and bass number "Biting Down", featuring "futuristic war drum thump". For the US

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

September 2013 edition of ''The Love Club EP'', "Royals" was replaced by "

Swingin Party "Swingin Party" is a song written by Paul Westerberg and recorded by his band The Replacements for their fourth studio album '' Tim'' (1985). The song is an indie rock and rock and roll ballad with influences from jazz, country and new wave. L ...

", a cover version of The Replacements' song.

Release and promotion

In November 2012, Lorde self-released ''The Love Club EP'' through her

account for free download. After 60,000 downloads, UMG decided to commercially release the EP. On 8 March 2013, ''The Love Club EP'' was released digitally in Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and the United States. The CD edition of the record was released in New Zealand on 10 May, in Australia a week later, and in the United States on 9 July. In the United Kingdom,

released a 10-inch vinyl edition on 10 June 2013. On 30 September 2013, the track listing of the US iTunes Store version of ''The Love Club EP'' changed, with "Royals" replaced by "Swingin Party". "Royals" was released as the only single from the EP. On 3 June 2013,

Lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...

and Republic Records sent the track to US

adult album alternative Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, 2 ...

(AAA) radio. The single was made available for digital download worldwide in August 2013. All songs from ''The Love Club EP'', including "Royals", were featured on an extended version of Lorde's first studio album ''

Pure Heroine ''Pure Heroine'' is the debut studio album by New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde. It was released on 27 September 2013 by Universal, Lava, and Republic Records. After several unsuccessful sessions with songwriters, Lorde was paired with Jo ...

'', released in 2013. On 27 July 2013, Lorde replaced

Frank Ocean Christopher Francis "Frank" Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987), is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. His works are noted by music critics for featuring avant-garde styles and introspective, elliptical lyrics. Ocean ...

at the

Splendour in the Grass Splendour in the Grass (commonly referred to as Splendour) is an annual Australian music festival held at the North Byron Parklands in Yelgun, New South Wales. Since its inauguration, the festival has also been held in various locations near ...

festival in Byron Bay, Australia. On 6 August 2013, she held a concert at

Le Poisson Rouge (Le) Poisson Rouge (often referred to as LPR) is a music venue and multimedia art cabaret in New York City founded in 2008 by Justin Kantor and David Handler on the former site of the Village Gate at 158 Bleecker Street. The performance space w ...

in New York—her first US show. Two days later, she performed "The Love Club" and "Royals" on Santa Monican radio station

KCRW KCRW (89.9 MHz FM) is a National Public Radio member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to program ...

. In September 2013, she headlined the

Decibel Festival Decibel Festival was an annual music and digital arts festival in Seattle, launched in 2004 by Sean Horton and a team of volunteer staff. The Decibel Festival was dedicated to live electronic music performance, visual arts, and new media. Histor ...

in Seattle, Washington, and held a concert at

Webster Hall Webster Hall is a nightclub and concert venue located at 125 East 11th Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues, near Astor Place, in the East Village of Manhattan, New York City. It is one of New York City's most historically significant ...

and Warsaw Venue in New York City to promote ''The Love Club EP'' and her debut studio album ''Pure Heroine''. On 13 November 2013, she performed six songs on '' Live on Letterman'', including "Bravado" and "Royals". In early 2014, Lorde embarked on a concert tour in North America to promote ''The Love Club EP'' and ''Pure Heroine''.

Critical reception

An editor of

called the album "evocative" and praised its "sultry, sinewy" sound. Writing for ''The New Zealand Herald'', Chris Schulz labelled the EP "the start of something very special" and applauded Lorde's vocals. Nick Ward from ''The Nelson Mail'' praised the extended play's lyrical content and characterised Lorde as "definitely one to watch". In an article for ''New Zealand Listener'', Jim Pinckney opined that the music "may not yet quite match the individuality of orde'svocals and lyrics", but praised her songwriting ability, "which combines unmistakably teenage confusion, curiosity and confidence with word skills beyond her years". On behalf of '' Manawatu Standard'', a reviewer complimented on the EP's production, songwriting and "the right edge to appeal to a mainstream audience", saying the EP was "

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

a good pop debut should be". In a review of ''The Love Club EP'' for '' The Dominion Post'', Tom Cardy deemed the songs on the record as "sharp, refreshing and smart". Additionally, he viewed the EP as the best album he had heard by a New Zealand artist that year and lauded Lorde's lyrics and performance as "simply incredible". As a music reviewer for '' mX'', Nick Mason lauded the EP as a "strong" debut release for displaying Lorde's maturity beyond her years, as well as impressive and inventive musical style. By the end of 2013, Allan Raible from

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

ranked ''The Love Club EP'' as well as ''Pure Heroine'' as the third best records of the year. At the 2013 New Zealand Music Awards, Lorde won Breakthrough Artist of the Year for the EP and Single of the Year for "Royals". With "Royals", Lorde and Joel Little won the APRA Silver Scroll award in 2013. At the

56th Annual Grammy Awards The 56th Annual Grammy Awards presentation was held on January 26, 2014, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT and was hosted for the third time by LL Cool J. The show was moved to January to avoid comp ...

(2014), "Royals" was nominated for

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

, and won Song of the Year and

Best Pop Solo Performance The Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guides, the Best Pop S ...

. The song won Top Rock Song at the 2014 ''Billboard'' Music Awards. At the 2014

World Music Awards The World Music Awards is an international award show founded in 1989 under the patronage of Albert II, Prince of Monaco and co-founder/executive producer John Martinotti. The event is based in Monte Carlo. Awards are presented to the world' ...

, the EP was nominated for Best Album, which went to '' Coup d'Etat'' by

G-Dragon Kwon Ji-yong (; born August 18, 1988), also known by his stage name G-Dragon (지드래곤), is a South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur and fashion designer, known as the " King of K-pop". G-Dragon is the recipi ...

Commercial performance

''The Love Club EP'' debuted and peaked on the

New Zealand Albums Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...

at number two on 18 March 2013. It stayed on the chart for a total of 41 weeks. The EP became the fifth best-selling album of the year in New Zealand was certified platinum by the Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ) for shipping more than 15,000 units in the country. In Australia, the record appeared on the ARIA Singles Chart at number two. The

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing ...

(ARIA) certified ''The Love Club EP'' nonuple platinum for shipments of more than 630,000 copies in Australia. In the US, the record peaked at number 23 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and had sold 60,000 copies by August 2013; it became the 182nd best-selling album of the year in the US.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by

Joel Little Joel Little (born 13 February 1983) is a New Zealand record producer, musician and Grammy Award-winning songwriter.

and Ella Yelich-O'Connor, except "Swingin Party", written by

Paul Westerberg Paul Harold Westerberg (born December 31, 1959) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for the Replacements. Following the breakup of the Replacements, Westerberg launched a solo career that saw him re ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Sales and certifications

Release history

Notes

References

External links

''The Love Club EP''
on

''The Love Club EP''
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

''The Love Club EP''
at

MusicBrainz MusicBrainz is a MetaBrainz project that aims to create a collaborative music database that is similar to the freedb project. MusicBrainz was founded in response to the restrictions placed on the Compact Disc Database (CDDB), a database for so ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Love Club 2013 debut EPs Albums produced by Joel Little Lorde EPs Universal Music Group EPs