Lorde's 'Solar Power' reveals what she learned when she disappeared into the sun

Lorde is a 24-year-old singer-songwriter.Lorde

• Lorde released her third studio album, "Solar Power," on Friday.
• It further cements Lorde as a once-in-a-generation lyricist with a talent for earworm melodies.
• The best songs are "Secrets From a Girl (Who's Seen It All)," "The Man With the Axe," and "Mood Ring."

Lorde released her third studio album, "Solar Power," on Friday.

The 24-year-old singer-songwriter has been extremely elusive since 2017's "Melodrama," which was nominated for album of the year at the Grammy Awards and ranked the eighth-best album of the decade by Insider.

Her long-anticipated follow-up was coproduced by Jack Antonoff and largely inspired by sun-soaked summers in New Zealand during Lorde's time away from the spotlight. She has described it as "one of my great weed albums," as well as "a celebration of the natural world."

Insider's music team (reporter Callie Ahlgrim and celebrity and music editor Courteney Larocca) listened to the new album on our own, jotting down our initial thoughts track by track.

Here is what we thought of each song on "Solar Power" upon first listen. (Skip to the end to see the only songs worth listening to and the album's final score.)