With Pure Heroine, Lorde brought a unique voice to pop: smoky, honest, but also (most importantly) young and real. She was only 16 years old with the release of her debut album, and the tracks bounced back and forth between surprisingly mature and refreshingly juvenile, bringing a perspective to pop that we don’t normally see.

In the four years since, her music has had an impact, and we can see how others have attempted to mirror that rugged, pared-down style (like this year’s American Teen by another young artist, Khalid). So I was intrigued to see how she would come back, and in what way her music would change.

Tags: Lorde, Pop