The thing about Pure Heroine that struck me immediately is that these are, by far, the best lyrics I've seen in pop music in years. Decades? They're probably the best lyrics I've seen in pop music since R.E.M. declared themselves pop musicians in 1990.
Which perhaps isn't surprising, since, as I understand it, her record label had just about given up on marketing her, threw a Hail Mary, and basically said "Fine. Make whatever you want, we'll release it, and... we'll see." So with that little industry support, the songs didn't have to be written by eight people around a conference room table, one of whom was required to be either Dr. Luke or Max Martin, all of whom insisted everything be at a first-grade reading level with exactly two hip buzzwords per verse inserted.
But... then I see the way Ella talks in interviews and on Twitter and I start wondering: are those lyrics hers? She's credited as the songwriter, but from what I understand the whole album was a collaboration between her and Joel Little, and I wonder if the album is really Pure Heroine by Joel Little, with vocals contributed by Ella...
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