Waxhatchee (Katie Crutchfield) and MJ Lenderman—two of the biggest names in the modern indie folk-country scene— are fresh off the tracks of an incredibly successful year with both of them earning Grammy nominations for their respective 2024 albums, Tiger’s Blood and Manning Fireworks, both of which were met with near universal critical acclaim.

On Virgin, I argue Lorde blends her signature raw, confessional, and deeply vulnerable style with a misguided, frequently gender-essentialist breed of spirituality, ultimately leading her to stumble into the crystal-doting, Facebook-posting territory of the latter.