No Better

Album: Pure Heroine (Extended) (2013)
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Songfacts®:

  • Lorde dropped this off-cut from her debut album Pure Heroine as a surprise new single via iTunes on December 13, 2013. Unfortunately, its release coincided with the unexpected arrival of Beyoncé's eponymous "visual album," resulting in an ironic extra meaning for the lyric at the end of the first verse, "steal our thunder."
  • The song is a bass-heavy electronic pop ballad with diary entry lyrics depicting enjoying summer life as a teen. Lorde sings lines about humid nights out and driving aimlessly as well as dreams of winter when the weather becomes cooler. There's also an unfortunate dude with "hot and gross" breath, that she kisses "like a lover."
  • Lorde surprised fans by singing "No Better" during the opening night of her Ultrasound World Tour in Austin, Texas, on September 17, 2025. It was her first time performing it live since the Pure Heroine tour in 2014.

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