The great escape

In 2020, we turned to music for comfort and joy, and we asked it to reflect back at us reminders of our past lives and reassurances that, when this was all over, dance floors and concerts and gigs would be waiting for us again.

But this year, upon hearing the music written and recorded during the various states of shutdown all over the world, you’d be forgiven for forgetting about dance floors entirely. Everything feels softer, lighter and altogether more earnest. On , Lorde has traded the neon lights that lit both her and her path up on for natural lighting. In considering the effects fame has had on her life, Billie Eilish turned to post-war crooners like Peggy Lee, Julie London and Frank Sinatra for inspiration. The result – her second album, – is meditative, ornamental and warm. For someone whose first album