here’s a paraphrase of a commentary on it I agree with:
Almost 10 years after she released her huge debut EP, Lorde has become the famous, rich, adored celebrity that she was singing about then. And it really does show here on this album. Lorde sings about stuff like her many gowns and robes, her love for sunny beaches and traveling, and her stories about getting on planes. In short, she has absolutely nothing interesting to say; this album is full of bored performances, bored lyrics with boring stories, faux-relateable experiences, and the emotions that she occasionally tries to bring forward sound forced and shallow.
Just listened to it for the first time earlier today - didn't pay attention to the lyrics (I usually don't) but the music was boring and disappointing. Sucks too because I really enjoyed her first two albums and was looking forward to this one.