"Glory and Gore" is a song by New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde, serving as the seventh track on her debut studio album, Pure Heroine. It was released on September 27, 2013 and as the album's fourth single on March 11, 2014, through Universal Music New Zealand, Lava Records, and Republic Records.
"Glory and Gore" is an electropop song influenced by chillwave and hip hop music. It speaks about modern society's fascination with violence and celebrity culture, comparing these to gladiators.
The song was met with a mixed reception from critics, and reached numbers sixty-eight and nine on the United States Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Rock Songs, respectively. In 2014, "Glory and Gore" was used in an advertisement for the second season of the History television series Vikings.[1]
Background[]
As with the rest of Pure Heroine, "Glory and Gore" was written by Lorde and Joel Little, recorded at Golden Age Studios and produced, mixed and engineered by Little. "Glory and Gore" is a chillwave and hip hop-influenced electropop ballad, instrumented by pulsing synthesisers.[2] According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by EMI Music Publishing, it is set in a moderate tempo of 72 beats per minute. It is written in the key of F minor, and follows the chord progression A♭–Fm–Cm–B♭m. Lorde's vocals range from E♭3 to E♭5.[3] Throughout the song, she uses black satire to express disdain towards modern emphasis on violence, and compares celebrity culture to gladiatorial combat. This is exemplified in the lyric "Glory and gore go hand-in-hand/That's why we're making headlines". It continues the derision of popular culture of "Team", the preceding song on Pure Heroine.[4] "Glory and Gore" also portrays an empowerment theme; PopMatters' Evan Sawdey described it as a "dark" version of Katy Perry's "Roar" (2013).[5]
Release[]
"Glory and Gore" was sent to U.S. modern rock radio by Lava Records and Republic Records on March 11, 2014, as the third U.S. single from Pure Heroine, following "Royals" and "Team".[6] A U.S. adult album alternative (AAA) release followed on April 7, 2014.[7] "Glory and Gore" serves as the fourth overall single from Pure Heroine, as "Tennis Court" had previously been released outside the U.S. in 2013. Originally, "Tennis Court" was intended to be the third U.S. single,[8] but the labels pivoted to "Glory and Gore" instead after it was featured in promotional material for the second season of History's television series Vikings.[9][10] However, the scheduled U.S. contemporary hit radio (CHR) release of "Glory and Gore" on April 8, 2014, was cancelled, and "Tennis Court" was ultimately serviced to U.S. CHR on April 22, 2014.[11]
Critical reception[]
In a review of Pure Heroine, Larry Day from The 405 called the track "single-worthy".[12] Billboard's Jason Lipshutz called Lorde's vocals during the song's hook "contagious".[13] Jon Hadusek of Consequence of Sound wrote that "Glory and Gore" did not fit in with the minimal production found in the majority of Pure Heroine. Pitchfork's Lindsay Zoladz criticised the song for having too many lyrics forced into each line. John Murphy from musicOMH was critical of the latter half of Pure Heroine, writing "by the time 'Glory and Gore' and 'Still Sane' roll around, the template's starting to sound a bit tired".[14]
Chart performance[]
"Glory and Gore" was sent to U.S. modern rock radio by Lava Records and Republic Records on March 11, 2014, as the fourth U.S. single from Pure Heroine. A U.S. adult album alternative (AAA) release followed on April 7, 2014. It serves as the fifth overall single from the album, as "Tennis Court" had been released outside the United States in 2013.
Following the release of Pure Heroine, "Glory and Gore" debuted at number seventeen on the New Zealand Artists Singles Chart dated October 7, 2013.[15] Prior to its official single release, the track entered the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 at number 88 for the week of March 8, 2014, with approximately 32,000 downloads—nearly double its sales from the previous week.[16] The following week, it sold 47,000 copies (a 46% increase), earning the title of Digital Gainer as it rose to number 68 on the chart.[17]
The song peaked at number 30 on the U.S. Digital Songs chart, number 17 on the Alternative Songs chart, and number 9 on the Hot Rock Songs chart. As of April 2014, "Glory and Gore" had sold 307,000 digital downloads in the United States.[18]
Live performances[]
On September 24, 2013, Lorde performed the track, among others, at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles, California.[19] On October 3, 2013, Lorde held a concert at the Warsaw Venue in Brooklyn and performed the song among other tracks from the album. Lorde performed "Glory and Gore" at Silo Park, Auckland on January 29, 2014 as part of her make-up show for the 2014 Laneway Festival, with The New Zealand Herald's Chris Schulz calling the performance a "highlight".[20] In 2014, Lorde opened her show at Roseland Ballroom and her Coachella Festival set with the song, and performed it at Lollapalooza in São Paulo, Brazil and in Buenos Aires, Argentina.[21]
Lyrics[]
[Verse 1]
There's a humming in the restless summer air
And we're slipping off the course that we prepared
But in all chaos, there is calculation
(Drop-drop-drop-drop) Dropping glasses just to hear them break
You've been drinking like the world was gonna end (It didn't)
Took a shiner from the fist of your best friend (Go figure)
It's clear that someone's gotta go
We mean it, but I promise we're not mean
[Pre-Chorus]
And the cry goes out (Oh)
They lose their minds for us
And how it plays out (Oh)
Now we're in the ring and we're coming for blood
[Chorus]
(Oh, oh) You could try and take us
(Oh, oh) But we're the gladiators
(Oh, oh) Everyone a rager
(Oh, oh) But secretly they're saviours
Glory and gore go hand in hand
That's why we're making headlines
(Oh, oh) You could try and take us
(Oh, oh) But victory's contagious
[Verse 2]
Delicate in every way but one (The swordplay)
God knows we like archaic kinds of fun (The old ways)
Chance is the only game I play with, baby
We let our battles choose us
[Pre-Chorus]
And the cry goes out (Oh)
They lose their minds for us
And how it plays out (Oh)
Now we're in the ring and we're coming for blood
[Chorus]
(Oh, oh) You could try and take us
(Oh, oh) But we're the gladiators
(Oh, oh) Everyone a rager
(Oh, oh) But secretly they're saviours
Glory and gore go hand in hand
That's why we're making headlines
(Oh, oh) You could try and take us
(Oh, oh) But victory's contagious
[Bridge]
No-one 'round here's good at keeping their eyes closed
The sun's starting to light up when we're walking home
Tired little laughs, gold-lie promises
We'll always win at this, I don't ever think about death
It's all right if you do, it's fine
We gladiate, but I guess we're really fighting ourselves
Roughin' up our minds so we're ready when the killtime comes
Wide awake in bed, words in my brain
"Secretly you love this, do you even wanna go free?"
Let me in the ring, I'll show you what that big word means
[Chorus]
(Oh, oh) You could try and take us
(Oh, oh) But we're the gladiators
(Oh, oh) Everyone a rager
(Oh, oh) But secretly they're saviours
Glory and gore go hand in hand
That's why we're making headlines
(Oh, oh) You could try and take us
(Oh, oh) But victory's contagious
References[]
- ↑ https://www.ign.com/videos/vikings-season-2-teaser
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20130928210731/http://www.3news.co.nz/Lorde---Pure-Heroine-track-by-track-review/tabid/418/articleID/314906/Default.aspx
- ↑ https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0129631
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20140512213448/http://www.planetnotion.com/2013/10/24/album-review-lorde-pure-heroine/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20141104192220/http://www.popmatters.com/review/175719-lorde-pure-heroine/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20131014203540/http://www.allaccess.com/alternative/future-releases/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20140727124426/http://www.allaccess.com/triple-a/future-releases
- ↑ https://www.billboard.com/pro/lordes-pure-heroine-hits-1-million-in-sales/
- ↑ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/historys-vikings-season-2-promo-664137/
- ↑ https://www.billboard.com/pro/chart-highlights-lordes-tennis-court-nets-adult-pop-songs-debut/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20140416034428/http://www.republicplaybook.com/track/lorde-tennis-court-2/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20140512222339/http://www.thefourohfive.com/review/article/lorde-pure-heroine
- ↑ https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/lorde-pure-heroine-track-by-track-review-5733177/
- ↑ http://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/lorde-pure-heroine
- ↑ https://aotearoamusiccharts.co.nz/archive/aotearoa-singles/2013-10-04
- ↑ https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/chart-moves-keith-urban-drives-cop-car-up-hot-country-songs-cage-the-5922858/
- ↑ https://www.billboard.com/pro/pharrell-williams-happy-holds-at-no-1-on-hot-100-chart/
- ↑ https://www.billboard.com/pro/chart-highlights-lordes-tennis-court-nets-adult-pop-songs-debut/
- ↑ https://archive.ph/20140116082510/http://www.idolator.com/7486136/lorde-fonda-theater-live-review-setlist
- ↑ http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11193929
- ↑ https://archive.today/20140714232627/http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/546938/20140407/lorde-40000-fans-brazil.htm
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