Lorde Rules a Year-End List

By JON PARELES

1. Lorde “Pure Heroine” (Universal) In hip-hop, keyboard-centered processionals often accompany self-congratulatory boasts. “Pure Heroine,” the debut album by Lorde — the songwriter and singer Ella Yelich-O’Connor, from New Zealand — commandeers those wide-open spaces with her lustrous voice and angel-choir harmonies carrying serious thoughts. Lorde writes about suburban provincialism, peer pressure, insecurity, determination and — in the irresistible “Royals” — about pop-culture fantasies and class-conscious realities. She’s 17.     Read More

Article source:  NYTimes.com