Pure Heroine has been described as an electronica, electropop, and dream pop album with minimalist production, deep bass and programmed beats.

Pure Heroine received generally positive reviews from music critics, many of whom praised its songwriting, production, and Lorde's vocal performance.

Lorde released the album's lead single, "Royals", to critical and commercial success; it was followed by "Tennis Court", "Team" and "Glory and Gore".

Her voice isn't booming or overpowering, but rather mystifying and alluring, both floating on its own in a sea of reverb and digital blips and awash in an army of chorused overdubs.

[17][18] The album's song structures were influenced by hip hop, electronic and pop music as the singer listened to those genres to develop a "real taste" of the direction the production would follow.

"[30] Lorde also uses metaphors involving teeth, describing the "Hollywood smile",[30] which several publications related to social class structures and economic inequality.

[23] In an analysis piece from i-D, writer Wendy Syfret states that Pure Heroine presented suburban dreams and a realistic teenage life, saying the record is "perhaps the most direct and eloquent statement about the eternal teen juxtaposition of wanting it all ... but knowing deep down that to leave this stage is to make an exit you can never undo.

[38] "400 Lux", named for the brightness of a sunrise or sunset,[19] was interpreted by critics as the album's first love song, with lyrics detailing suburban life.

Although Lorde was also inspired by historic aristocrats and hip hop-influenced artists such as Jay-Z, Kanye West and Lana Del Rey when writing the song, she criticised their "bullshit" references to "expensive" alcohol and cars.

[40] Lorde cited her fear of ageing and a party she threw at her house while her parents were away as the main inspirations behind "Ribs",[41] described by critics as a deep house-influenced electronica and electropop song.

[51] Lorde uses black satire throughout the song to express disdain for the modern emphasis on violence,[46][13] and compares celebrity culture to gladiatorial combat.

[54] The album's release was preceded by an advertising campaign which had the lyrics of her songs displayed on buses and shop windows and faxed to media outlets.

[63] Two months later, Lorde performed several songs from the album and her EP on Live with Letterman[64] and at a concert the singer held at the Warsaw Venue in Brooklyn.

[13][21] It failed to match the success of the previous singles, charting outside the top 10 in New Zealand,[100] and at low-tier positions in Australia and the United States.

[103] Jason Lipshutz of Billboard described it as "immaculate" and an "exploration into the soul of a quiet girl in the Internet age, trying to feel something and not envy everything.

"[13] In his favorable A− review, Ray Rahman of Entertainment Weekly said the album's production, vocal performance and lyricism "signals the arrival of a new kind of star.

"[105] In contrast, Spin reviewer Maura Johnston suggested that Lorde used her age as a "clumsy ploy", declaring her music "aggressively okay" and washed in "(possibly fake) teen-pop-star ennui".

[109] Lindsay Zoladz, writing for Pitchfork, described Lorde as a "correspondent on the front lines of elegantly wasted post-digital youth culture and working-class suburban boredom".

[107] James Reed of The Boston Globe said Pure Heroine was similar to the production aesthetic of R&B singers the Weeknd and Jessie Ware.

[110] PopMatters's Evan Sawdey suggested that the "album's production... [evokes] an ethereal, nighttime soundscape that just so happens to congeal into sturdy pop songs, sometimes in exciting, unexpected ways.

"[111] The New Zealand Herald's Lydia Jenkin concluded, "[Lorde's] knack for combining her insights, with strong phrasing, and ear-worm phonaesthetics ... make her a musical heroine ...

[113] Robert Christgau gave the album a two-star honourable mention () and said, "Her ambition's in the right place, but the reason she always co-writes is that 16-year-olds don't just crank out hits.

[160] Lorde opened the door for other smart, bold teen girls to say their peace and earn respect — not just in pop music, but in the world overall.

Over the next several years, our culture saw a rise in young female musicians and actors like Billie Eilish, Amandla Stenberg, Zendaya, and Tavi Gevinson, girls who weren’t just accepted for speaking their minds and embracing their individuality, but celebrated for it.

[170] Lindsay Zoladz from The Ringer indicated that the album's "impact [was] larger and harder to define because it completely rewrote the rules for young women making radio-friendly pop.

"[171] The New Yorker's Carrie Battan echoed similar statements, arguing that the "pop scene—particularly for women—has altered radically since Pure Heroine was released", making it "almost unrecognizable from the sugary-sweet, overtly sexual realm of the early aughts.

[173] Elle Hunt, writing for The Spinoff said the album's "almost conversational style of singing is now so ubiquitous, it's easy to forget it would not have been associated with pop ten years ago or fewer.

[176] In an interview with NME, American singer Olivia Rodrigo stated that the album served as inspiration for her debut single, "Drivers License" (2021).

[179][180] Similarly, Australian singer Amy Shark considered the album a pivotal moment in helping her "find direction" for her sound.

[181] English duo Let's Eat Grandma selected Pure Heroine as one of their all-time favourite records and cited it as an influence on their 2018 album I'm All Ears.