No Better

"No Better" is a song by New Zealand singer Lorde, taken from the extended version of her debut studio album Pure Heroine (2013). The track was released on 13 December 2013 by Universal Music Group as a promotional tool for the album. "No Better" is an electropop and trip hop ballad with elements of hip hop, in which Lorde discusses an infatuation. Music critics opined that the single has similar musical style to songs from Pure Heroine.

"No Better"
Promotional single by Lorde
from the album Pure Heroine[lower-alpha 1]
Released13 December 2013
StudioGolden Age Studios, Morningside, Auckland, New Zealand
Genre
Length2:50
LabelUniversal
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Joel Little

Background and composition

"No Better" was written by Lorde (credited under her birth-name Ella Yelich-O'Connor) and Joel Little.[1] On 13 December 2013, the track was released as a digital download single on the iTunes Store.[2] The single was made available for free until 19 December as a part of the iTunes Store's "12 Days of Gifts" Christmas promotion.[3]

"No Better" is an electropop and trip hop ballad with hip hop elements.[4][5] The song has a similar sonority to that of other songs from Pure Heroine, featuring Lorde's "feathery" vocals and minimal production.[6] It incorporates "woozy" basslines,[7] and "pulsing" synthesisers in its instrumentation,[8] making the song's melody "dreamy", according to Whitney Phaneuf of HitFix.[9] Lyrically, the song features Lorde "[celebrating] an infatuation that deepens as the seasons change".[8] 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".[9] During the chorus the bass beat becomes more intense as Lorde sings "Go all the way / Have your fun, have it all".[9]

Reception

Marc Hogan from Spin wrote that the song "flits between fairly vivid first-person details",[4] while Whitney Phaneuf from HitFix labelled "No Better" a "sexy" track.[9] Eric Danton of Rolling Stone opined that the lyrics of the song are "girlish and knowing".[8] 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.[10] "No Better" entered the New Zealand Artists Singles Chart at number seven on 23 December 2013. It dropped to number nineteen the following week,[11] before falling out of the chart.[12]

Track listing
  • Digital download[2]
  1. "No Better" – 2:50
  2. "Royals" (music video) – 4:03

Release history
Region Format Date Label Ref.
Australia Digital download 13 December 2013 Universal [2]
Belgium [13]
Finland [14]
Germany [15]
India [16]
Ireland [17]
New Zealand [18]
Portugal [19]
Spain [20]
Switzerland [21]
United Kingdom [22]
United States [23]

References

Notes
  1. "No Better" appears on the extended version of Pure Heroine exclusively on the iTunes Store.

Citations
  1. "No Better". Australasian Performing Right Association. Archived from the original on October 21, 2014. Retrieved 2014-05-23.
  2. "No Better – Single by Lorde". Australia: iTunes Store (Apple). Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  3. "iTunes 12 Days of Gifts". The Daily Telegraph. 2013-12-13. Retrieved 2014-05-23.
  4. Hogan, Marc (2013-12-13). "Hear Lorde's Bassy Stealth Single 'No Better'". Spin. Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  5. Coplan, Chris (2013-12-13). "Listen: Lorde's surprise new single, 'No Better'". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on 2013-12-13. Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  6. Williams, Tom (2013-12-14). "Listen To Lorde's New Single 'No Better'". Music Feeds. Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  7. Williott, Carl (2013-12-13). "Lorde Drops 'No Better': Hear The 'Pure Heroine' Leftover". Idolator. Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  8. Danton, Eric (2013-12-13). "Lorde Breezes Through Seasons In 'No Better'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  9. Phaneuf, Whitney (2013-12-13). "Lorde raps about teenage lust on surprise new single 'No Better'". HitFix. Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  10. Anderson, L. V. (2013-12-13). "Lorde's 'No Better': A light, confectionary contender for song of the summer". Slate. Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  11. "Top 20 New Zealand Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 30 December 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  12. "Top 20 New Zealand Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 6 January 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  13. "No Better – Single by Lorde". Belgium: iTunes Store (Apple). Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  14. "No Better – Single by Lorde". Finland: iTunes Store (Apple). Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  15. "No Better – Single von Lorde" (in German). Germany: iTunes Store (Apple). Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  16. "No Better – Single by Lorde". India: iTunes Store (Apple). Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  17. "No Better – Single by Lorde". Ireland: iTunes Store (Apple). Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  18. "No Better – Single by Lorde". New Zealand: iTunes Store (Apple). Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  19. "No Better – Single de Lorde" (in Portuguese). Portugal: iTunes Store (Apple). Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  20. "No Better – Single de Lorde" (in Spanish). Spain: iTunes Store (Apple). Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  21. "No Better – Single von Lorde" (in German). Switzerland: iTunes Store (Apple). Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  22. "No Better – Single by Lorde". United Kingdom: iTunes Store (Apple). Retrieved 2014-05-22.
  23. "No Better – Single by Lorde". United States: iTunes Store (Apple). Archived from the original on December 21, 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-17.
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