| "Glory and Gore" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byLorde | ||||
| from the albumPure Heroine | ||||
| Released | 11 March 2014 (2014-03-11) | |||
| Recorded | Golden Age Studios | |||
| Genre | Electropop | |||
| Length | 3:32 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Joel Little | |||
| Lorde singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Glory and Gore" is a song by New Zealand singer-songwriterLorde from her debut studio album,Pure Heroine (2013). The song was released on 11 March 2014 as the album's fourth and final single byLava Records andRepublic Records. The track was written by Lorde and its producer,Joel Little. "Glory and Gore" is anelectropop song influenced bychillwave andhip hop music. It speaks about modern society's fascination with violence andcelebrity culture, comparing these togladiators.
The song was met with a mixed reception from critics, and reached numbers sixty-eight and nine on the United StatesBillboard Hot 100 andHot Rock Songs, respectively. In 2014, "Glory and Gore" was used in an advertisement for the second season of theHistory television seriesVikings.
As with the rest ofPure Heroine, "Glory and Gore" was written by Lorde andJoel Little, recorded atGolden Age Studios and produced, mixed and engineered by Little.[1] "Glory and Gore" is achillwave andhip hop-influencedelectropopballad,[2][3] instrumented by pulsingsynthesisers.[4]
According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com byEMI Music Publishing, it is set in a moderatetempo of 72 beats per minute. It is written in thekey ofF minor, and follows thechord progression A♭–Fm–Cm–B♭m. Lorde's vocals range from E♭3 to E♭5.[5] Throughout the song, she usesblack satire to express disdain towards modern emphasis on violence,[6] and comparescelebrity culture togladiatorial combat.[7] This is exemplified in the lyric "Glory and gore go hand-in-hand/That's why we're making headlines."[6] It continues the derision of popular culture of "Team", the preceding song onPure Heroine.[8] "Glory and Gore" also portrays an empowerment theme;PopMatters' Evan Sawdey described it as a "dark" version ofKaty Perry's "Roar" (2013).[9]
"Glory and Gore" was sent to United Statesmodern rock radio byLava Records andRepublic Records on 11 March 2014 as the third US single fromPure Heroine, following "Royals" and "Team".[10] A USadult album alternative (AAA) release followed on 7 April 2014.[11] "Glory and Gore" serves as the fourth single overall fromPure Heroine, as "Tennis Court" was released outside the US in 2013.[12] Originally, "Tennis Court" was going to be the third US single,[13][14] but the record labels changed to "Glory and Gore" instead after it was featured inHistory's promotional campaign for thesecond season of its historical television series,Vikings.[15][16] However, the 8 April 2014 UScontemporary hit radio (CHR) scheduled release of "Glory and Gore" was cancelled,[16][17] and "Tennis Court" eventually impacted US CHR on 22 April 2014.[18]
In a review ofPure Heroine, Larry Day fromThe 405 called the track "single-worthy".[19]Billboard's Jason Lipshutz called Lorde's vocals during the song'shook "contagious".[6] Jon Hadusek ofConsequence of Sound wrote that "Glory and Gore" did not fit in with the minimal production found in the majority ofPure Heroine.[20]Pitchfork's Lindsay Zoladz criticised the song for having too many lyrics forced into each line.[21] John Murphy fromMusicOMH was critical of the latter half ofPure Heroine, writing "by the time 'Glory and Gore' and 'Still Sane' roll around, the template's starting to sound a bit tired."[22]
Following the release ofPure Heroine, "Glory and Gore" appeared at number 17 on theNew Zealand Artists Singles Chart dated 7 October 2013.[23] Prior to its single release, the song entered the United StatesBillboard Hot 100 chart at number 88 on the week of 8 March 2014,[24] with sales of about 32,000 copies that week—almost double the sales of the previous week.[25] The following week "Glory and Gore" sold 47,000 copies (up 46%) and became the Hot 100's "Digital Gainer" as it moved up to number 68 on the chart.[26] The song peaked at number 30 on the USDigital Songs chart,[27] number seventeen on the USAlternative Songs,[28] and number nine on the mainHot Rock Songs.[29] As of April 2014, "Glory and Gore" has sold 307,000 digital downloads in the US.[16]
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On 24 September 2013, Lorde performed the track, among others, atThe Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles, California.[30] On 3 October 2013, Lorde held a concert at the Warsaw Venue in Brooklyn and performed the song among other tracks from the album.[31]Lorde performed "Glory and Gore" at Silo Park, Auckland on 29 January 2014 as part of her make-up show for the 2014Laneway Festival, withThe New Zealand Herald's Chris Schulz calling the performance a "highlight".[32] In 2014, Lorde opened her show atRoseland Ballroom and herCoachella Festival set with the song,[33] and performed it atLollapalooza in São Paulo, Brazil and in Buenos Aires, Argentina.[34]
Weekly charts[edit]
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Certifications[edit]
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| Region | Date | Format | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 11 March 2014 | Modern rock | [10] | |
| 7 April 2014 | Adult album alternative | [11] |
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)| The Love Club EP | |
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| Solar Power and Te Ao Marama | |
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