"No Better" is a promotional single by New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde, initially released as part of the Pure Heroine (Extended) edition. The song was first made available through the iTunes Store as part of Apple's "12 Days of Gifts" Christmas promotion, remaining accessible until December 19, 2013. It was later reissued as an Apple Music exclusive. On November 15, 2021, "No Better" was finally released to all major streaming platforms.
Background[]
"No Better" was written by Lorde (credited under her birth-name Ella Yelich-O'Connor) and Joel Little. On December 13, 2013, the track was released as a digital download single on the iTunes Store.[1] The single was made available for free until December 19 as a part of the iTunes Store's "12 Days of Gifts" Christmas promotion.[2]
Composition[]
"No Better" is an electropop and trip hop ballad with hip hop elements. The song has a similar sonority to that of other songs from Pure Heroine, featuring Lorde's "feathery" vocals and minimal production.[3] It incorporates "woozy" basslines, and "pulsing" synthesisers in its instrumentation, making the song's melody "dreamy", according to Whitney Phaneuf of HitFix. Lyrically, the song features Lorde "[celebrating] an infatuation that deepens as the seasons change". At the first verse, she sings "We roll in every summer when there's strength in our numbers / And your breath's hot and gross but I kiss you like a lover". During the chorus the bass beat becomes more intense as Lorde sings "Go all the way / Have your fun, have it all".[4]
Critical reception[]
Marc Hogan from Spin wrote that the song "flits between fairly vivid first-person details",[5] while Whitney Phaneuf from HitFix labelled "No Better" a "sexy" track. Eric Danton of Rolling Stone opined that the lyrics of the song are "girlish and knowing". Writing for Slate, L. V. Anderson shared that "No Better" is reminiscent of some of the best tracks on Pure Heroine, but also "lighter, simpler [...] and more confectionary than most of her debut album", in spite of its dark theme.[6]
Chart performance[]
"No Better" entered the New Zealand Artists Singles Chart at number seven on December 23, 2013.[7] It dropped to number nineteen the following week, before falling out of the chart.[8]
Lyrics[]
[Verse 1]
We roll in every summer when there's strength in our numbers
And your breath's hot and gross, but I kiss you like a lover
Legs stick to the seats of the car someone grew into
I forget the knowledge from the lessons that I went to
And Jamie picks fights, but they're weak and short-lived
Because no one can be bothered when it's humid like this
And we roll in every summer like it's shameful to be underneath
The ceiling or a roof, try come out and steal our thunder
[Verse 2]
Now the days are getting cooler and the burning of our limbs
Doesn't happen quite as bad and the burn is just skin
Deep in the fantasies and dreams of the winter
Like the movies that we watched to pretend it wasn't winter
And everywhere we go, I can feel the subtle taste
Of the deeds outgrown and the welcome overstayed
And you're no better at swimming than you were in the beginning
But you come over at night and we practise all the breathing
[Chorus]
Go all the way, have your fun, have it all
This will take you down
Get through the days, do your thing, do it well
This will take you down
Go all the way, have your fun, have it all
This will take you down
Get through the days, do your thing, do it well
This will take you down
[Bridge]
I'll pull the trig if I want to
I'll pull the trick and it comes true
I'm chewing gum and it's killin' you
We're gettin' dead and it's the right way to do it
I see you happy in the front seat
I see you with all of your front teeth
You're allergic, but you never said
We're gettin' dead and it's the right way
[Chorus]
Go all the way, have your fun, have it all
This will take you down
Get through the days, do your thing, do it well
This will take you down
Go all the way, have your fun, have it all
This will take you down
Get through the days, do your thing, do it well
This will take you down
References[]
- ↑ https://music.apple.com/au/album/no-better-single/1445864588
- ↑ "iTunes 12 Days of Gifts". The Daily Telegraph. 2013-12-13. Retrieved 2014-05-23.
- ↑ https://musicfeeds.com.au/news/listen-to-lordes-new-single-no-better/
- ↑ http://www.hitfix.com/news/lorde-raps-about-teenage-lust-on-surprise-new-single-no-better
- ↑ https://www.spin.com/2013/12/lorde-no-better-single-itunes-stream/
- ↑ https://slate.com/culture/2013/12/lorde-s-no-better-a-light-confectionary-contender-for-song-of-the-summer.html
- ↑ https://aotearoamusiccharts.co.nz/archive/aotearoa-singles/2013-12-27
- ↑ https://aotearoamusiccharts.co.nz/archive/aotearoa-singles/2014-01-03
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