Recently, Lorde finally reemerged and released a single called “Green Light.” If you’re reading this, you’ve probably already heard it. Lots of friends of Tuned Up have heard it too, and they chimed in.

There’s been lots of early praise for the single from critics all across the blogosphere. There are many reasons offered, but our pal Bob Dawson from one man band extravaganza Teen Fiction and jam duo Future Modern is simply content to call the single “Fantastic!”

A far more common sentiment in Tuned Up land seems to be general enjoyment but a mixture of confusion and uncertainty with Lorde’s current sound. Here’s a sampling of those opinions:

“I think she’s following in the footsteps of Taylor Swift and I’m unsure if she’s following her own artistic pursuits.” –Salina Solomon, songwriter and alternative pop singer

“It sounds like an incredible pop single, but not like an incredible Lorde song. I loved her first album because of the perfectly honed sense of identity, and this seems to be lacking that. That said, it is a good tune, and could simply be the first experimentation for a great album. I’m just not sold, on first listen, to this song without context.” – Britain Meithe of The Giant and the Tailor (For fans of: Mae, Listener, La Dispute)

“Literally just heard this on the radio and had to take a second to figure out who it was. Likeable song, but I hope that the rest of the upcoming album will have more of her own sound and not bend too much toward pop.” – Holly Leonard, Columbus based visual artist

“I just don’t understand what vibe this is going for. Seems like it’s going for a chvrches vibe every now and then, which is okay but Lorde isn’t CHVRCHES and she shouldn’t try to be.” -Dave Appelt, former RadioU DJ and occasional TU contributor

Our friend John Brunner, a former blog boss of Ryan (in his days of writing for Mezzic) and current French music ambassador of sorts, elects to inject some humor into his response to the music video: “She needs to sleep more, says her eyes. It’s kinda like driving for an hour, zoning out and completely forgetting the entire journey the next day. (Meaning it’s decent but not memorable.)”

So, what do you think?