Lorde spent three days alone in the bush to finish her new album

Lorde's made some breakthroughs on the new album, but fans are still impatient. Photo / Gabriel Olsen, Film Magic

Lorde has finally made a breakthrough on her new album, which means it's one step closer to hitting our eardrums.

But it took desperate measures to get there.

The Kiwi pop star took to Twitter to celebrate her personal victory, saying she'd "made some of the most exciting breakthroughs on this record so far".

But what it took was for her to get into a chopper, go into the "wilderness" alone and spend three days writing in isolation.

Considering she's been pottering around her LA studio with Jack Antonoff for some time, this new take seems to indicate even Lorde is getting sick of waiting.

For three years, her fans have been eagerly awaiting a follow up to her debut album Pure Heroine, which shot her to international fame.

In the meantime she hasn't exactly been AWOL: She curated the soundtrack for Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 adding her own Yellow Flicker Beat, collaborated with Disclosure on Magnets, performed at David Bowie's tribute and co-wrote a track with Broods.

But otherwise there hasn't been a sniff of new material of her own, prompting the question: is it writer's block, or something more strategic than that?

The singer apparently has a name for the album - which she's only shared with her mum - and a lot of positive vibes.

But it's not enough to placate her fans, who are literally counting off the days since Pure Heroine was release in 2013.

it's been 1,021 days since your last album. End my suffering

— jordy (@jordybtlr) July 14, 2016

please I'm dying. I just need half a verse to hold me over.

— Caleb (@klubsteele) July 14, 2016