A couple of months after Lorde’s Solar Power album release, two new bonus tracks have been delivered to the scene of her songs. Being a part of the Solar Power (Deluxe Edition) album, the songs “Helen of Troy” and “Hold No Grudge” are the new and friendly faces on the block.

Back in August, when the hype for Solar Power was at an all-time high, I found out that there were two separate bonus tracks that would not arrive in America until some ambiguous date. Since that time has finally been bestowed upon the American fans, I hopped over to Lorde’s musical profile on Spotify, checked out her latest releases, and assimilated myself to the bright and shiny adjuncts to Solar Power.

Standing as the thirteenth song of the album is “Helen of Troy.” Titled after Helen of Troy from Greek mythology stories, this song is somewhat of a gentrified version of the legend. Helen was said to be the most beautiful woman in Greece, therefore making her the indirect cause of the Trojan War. Long story short, Helen had “a face that could launch a thousand ships” and her beauty played a prominent role in war and destruction. 

Because Lorde named this song after the goddess Helen, she used select lyrics and themes from the Greek story to allude to her own narrative. 

“This whole time, I’ve been playing it coy/The city’s falling for me just like I’m Helen of Troy.”

Coinciding with this lyric, Lorde mentions in another lyric, “I’m in my own little golden age,” which traces back to the tale of Helen and her flourishing beauty while also encapsulating the golden aura and motif of the album. 

When the song starts, trills of guitar lead into her poetic cadence, relaying the lyrics through warm sonic waves. To me, this song reminisces on the classic Lorde style. She incorporates the guitar and certain synthesis techniques from Solar Power, but I found that the lyrics, the harmonizing, and the pitches were highly similar to her Melodrama and Pure Heroine days—I, of course, love this new era, but it’s fun to see the style that grew Lorde’s fame embodied in her current music. That might not have been the intention, but that’s the energy that flows to me after listening attentively to each of her songs on a regular basis. 

The second bonus track is “Hold No Grudge.” Its instrumentals start out akin to “Helen of Troy,” but then drop a buoyant beat paired with her singing. This song has a quicker tempo with staccato sound effects but sporadically introduces more fluid motions of the lyrics. When the verses make this switch, the definition of this song becomes highlighted in bright yellows.

“No, I don’t keep a list, can’t hold a grudge/Don’t you think that we both might’ve done some growing up?/Well, I know that some s*** was said and done/But it’s such a different world now, I can’t hate anyone.”

As her voice peaks and pulls on the meaning, it reveals its cover. This is a song about her overcoming the drifted relationships in her lifetime and having the realization that people—including herself—change. Her previous albums consistently stoked the coals of heartbreak and emotive tension between herself and others, but this song’s spot in Solar Power ties into her newfound maturity and enlightenment within herself. 

In an interview with Rolling Stone, in reference to her bonus tracks, Lorde said, “They didn’t quite fit into the track list for whatever reason, but they’re both big tunes.” If I had to guess why these songs weren’t picked to be on the main album, I would say that it was because they both have an essence that forms a rift in the natural, sunny themes of Solar Power. Both songs do mend threads of the overarching theme to their lyrics, but as aforementioned, they kind of have a feel of her earlier albums. However, they do kind of upholster some of the original definitions of her old music.

Aside from their later release, I am in love with the bonus tracks of Solar Power. As I am still coming down from the heights of this album, it’s lovely to have these two extra songs to cushion the fall. Both are still cohesive to the main album’s organic nature while having a twist of Lorde’s familiar musical style shining through from her first and second albums.