"Buzzcut Season" is a song by New Zealand singer-songwriter

Lorde Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor (born 7 November 1996), known professionally as Lorde ( ), is a New Zealand singer and songwriter. She is known for her unconventional style of pop music and introspective songwriting, and has been referred to ...

, taken from her debut studio album, ''

Pure Heroine ''Pure Heroine'' is the debut studio album by New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde. It was released on 27 September 2013 by Universal Music Group, Universal, Lava Records, Lava, and Republic Records. After several unsuccessful sessions with son ...

'' (2013). It was released on 23 September 2013 by

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

(UMG) as a

promotional single A promotional recording, promo, or plug copy is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as mu ...

from the album. Written by Lorde and

Joel Little Joel Little (born 13 February 1983) is a New Zealand record producer, musician and Grammy Award-winning songwriter.

, "Buzzcut Season" is an

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

song that features elements from tropical music and discusses the "ridiculousness of modern life." Upon its release, "Buzzcut Season" was met with positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

, who praised its production and Lorde's vocal delivery on the track. The song reached number twenty-nine on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Hot Rock Songs and number thirty-eight on the ARIA Streaming Tracks. Lorde performed "Buzzcut Season" during a number of shows, including the ''

Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...

''.

Background and composition

"Buzzcut Season" was written by Lorde (credited under her birth-name Ella Yelich-O'Connor) and

Joel Little Joel Little (born 13 February 1983) is a New Zealand record producer, musician and Grammy Award-winning songwriter.

, and was produced and mixed by Little. Similar to other songs from the album ''Pure Heroine'', "Buzzcut Season" was recorded at Golden Age Studios in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. On 23 September 2013, the track was released as a digital download

on iTunes Stores by

Universal Music New Zealand Universal Music New Zealand is the New Zealand subsidiary of the Universal Music Group (UMG), the world's largest music company. Universal Music New Zealand's corporate headquarters are located in Auckland, New Zealand. Universal Music New Ze ...

. "Buzzcut Season" is an

song that draws inspirations from tropical music, and features

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

snaps and

xylophone The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Each bar is an idiophone tuned to a pitch of a musical scale, whether pentatonic or heptatonic in the case of many African ...

in its instrumentation. Lyrically, the song talks about the "ridiculousness of modern life." Sammy Maine from the website Drowned in Sound commented that the song was a "heartbreaking comment on our war-driven way of life." She pointed out the lyrics "Explosions on TV and all the girls with heads inside a dream" against M.I.A.'s pop-

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

musical style. Gaby Whitehill from Gigwise website called the song a "melancholy affair" and praised the "epic piano laden beat combined with the 16-year-old's haunting vocals."

Reception and promotion

Jason Lipshutz from ''

'' praised the song's production and Lorde's vocal delivery. Writer Michelle Pitiris for ''Vulture'' chose "Buzzcut Season" as a highlight from ''Pure Heroine'' and compared its sound to French electronic duo

Air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

. Idolator editor Mike Wass labelled it "another twinkling postcard from the streets of Auckland" but felt that it failed to "capture the attention" like "400 Lux" or "

Tennis Court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both Types of tennis match, doubles and singles matches. A variet ...

", two other songs from the album. "Buzzcut Season" spent five weeks on the Australian ARIA Streaming Tracks chart, peaking at number thirty-eight. It also reached number 29 on the US Hot Rock Songs. In New Zealand, "Buzzcut Season" peaked at number 18 on the New Zealand National Singles chart, which lists the best-performing singles by New Zealand artists in the country. On 3 October 2013, the singer held a concert at the Warsaw Venue in Brooklyn and performed the song among other tracks from the album. On 12 October 2013, Lorde performed "Buzzcut Season" in Studio Q of

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

. On 13 November 2013, Lorde performed several songs from ''Pure Heroine'' during the ''

'' to promote the album, including "Buzzcut Season". According to ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', the "sparkly-dressed" and "big-haired" singer performed only backed by a drummer and a keyboard player.

In popular culture

Singers

Troye Sivan Troye Sivan Mellet ( ; born 5 June 1995) is an Australian singer-songwriter and actor. After gaining popularity as a singer on YouTube and in Australian talent competitions, Sivan signed with Universal Music Australia, EMI Australia in 2013 and ...

and

Lauv Ari Staprans Leff (born August 8, 1994), known professionally as Lauv (), is an American musician best known for his breakout hit "I Like Me Better"; included on his compilation album ''I Met You When I Was 18 (The Playlist)'', which was releas ...

reference the title of the song on their track " I'm So Tired..." (2019). Sivan stated in an interview with ''

Paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...

'' that he and Lauv decided to include "Buzzcut Season" into the song's lyrics after having a discussion in his backyard about melancholic songs that uplifted the pair's emotions.

Track listing

;Digital download #"Buzzcut Season" – 4:06

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{authority control 2013 songs Lorde songs Songs written by Joel Little Songs written by Lorde Song recordings produced by Joel Little Song recordings produced by Lorde