Lorde drops surprise new song Liability and reveals album release date

Lorde has released a new song and announced that her second album Melodrama will arrive on June 16.

Liability, a heartfelt piano ballad, is the second taster of the upcoming album following the release of Green Light last week.

Posting the song to her Twitter, Lorde told fans "I wanted you to have a new song from Melodrama, a new chapter of the story - this is Liability."

Liability's slower tempo and simple production contrasts with the energetic Green Light, confirming Lorde's promise that "the album is very diverse". Last week, she told ZM's Fletch, Vaughan and Megan that Green Light was "kind of a curve ball".

The June 16 release date for Melodrama will follow Lorde's festival slots at Coachella, Governor's Ball and Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in the US.

The new album is now available for pre-order. Fans that purchase a digital pre-order will recieve an instant download of both Liability and Green Light to tide them over until June 16.

Lorde will be giving her first performance of this new material on American sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live tomorrow night in the States. Accounting for the time difference means we'll get our first glimpse of this on Sunday afternoon.

Lorde co-produced Melodrama with Jack Antonoff. Pure Heroine producer Joel Little worked with Lorde in the writing stages but did not contribute further.