Kyle MacLachlan’s favourite Lorde song: “An instant classic”

Posted On January 27, 2026January 27, 2026

It takes something, or indeed someone, incredibly special and transcendental to truly bridge every corner of the artistic world. But doesn’t Lorde do that every day?

Between collaborating with Charli XCX on the pounding electronic beats of ‘Girl, So Confusing’ to having a much more whimsical and spectral connection as a kindred sonic spirit to David Bowie, it’s fair to say she has managed to master the length and breadth of the music industry with an effervescence and effortlessness that many artists could only ever dream of.

But in terms of cracking the nut of the film business, that can admittedly be a lot trickier. It takes an equally special person to assume that rather omniscient view and realise how music can affect them, their work, and their art in different ways. However, Kyle MacLachlan most certainly fits that bill.

Being a prolific face on the screen is one thing, but his sprawling collaborations with David Lynch over a lifetime have clearly proved enough for MacLachlan to understand inherently when to expand his horizons and how to look for the next great, glimmering thing on the horizon. Within the past year, that just so happened to be Lorde and her latest album, Virgin. 

Of course, fans of the singer will be all too aware of the thematic significance of the record, with Lorde emphasising the process of transition from the present into the next stage of her life, whether that sense be in music, identity, or gender. One track which explores this most powerfully is ‘Shapeshifter’, so much so that it caught MacLachlan’s attention, too.

Speaking of the track, he explained recently: “One of my favourite songs of the moment is ‘Shapeshifter’ by Lorde. I loved her entire album, but this song specifically is an instant classic in my book. I just love the beat. Plus, I like the idea of a shapeshifter and knowing that we can all be many different things in this life.”

Indeed, throughout the entire rushing span of Virgin as a record, ‘Shapeshifter’ seems to be the song with the most underrated resonance. Young or old, and no matter where you fall on the gender spectrum, it’s a sentiment of change, along with a sound of sheer ethereality, that pulls you into its beguiling spell.

It goes without saying that this notion could ring true to any kind of actor at various stages in their career, but it seems particularly fitting for someone like MacLachlan to engage in the song and its meaning, given the style and work of substance he has become known for, and while his tastes, collaborations, and partnerships have undergone massive changes in recent years, it’s time for him to find a new muse. 

Lorde might just be the perfect answer he has been looking for all this time, with her reflections on love, loss, identity, and personhood shaping who we all are in this current moment, not least someone who has been in a process of figuring that out for their entire life. Bowie, MacLachlan, the world – Lorde just keeps collecting admirers. Nothing’s going to stop her now.

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