Stoned at the Nail Salon

The song was written and produced by Lorde and Jack Antonoff, and features backing vocals from Phoebe Bridgers, Clairo, Marlon Williams, and Lawrence Arabia.

Critics also noted the difference between the song and "Solar Power", the single that immediately preceded it, connecting "Stoned at the Nail Salon" to her earlier albums Pure Heroine and Melodrama.

"[4][5][6] In an interview with Zane Lowe of Apple Music, Lorde called the song "one of the quietest, most introspective, and internal moments on the record", explaining that "Stoned at the Nail Salon" was about the passage of time, which she thought was "a weird thing to even think about and be in conversation with".

[14] Writing for Rolling Stone, Althea Legaspi and Brittany Spanos called the song "a somber reflection on growing older", labeling it "in opposition" to Lorde's previous single, "Solar Power".

[17] Al Newstead of Triple J branded the song a "meditation on aging", contrasting what he called the "summer-soaked, carefree first taste" of "Solar Power" with the "more sombre track" of "Stoned at the Nail Salon", which he compared to "the bleeding heart balladry of 'Liability'".

[18] A Junkee article written by Joseph Earp called "Stoned at the Nail Salon" the autumn to the "burning summer" of "Solar Power", remarking that the song "works its magic in the background", comparing it to "a haze of pot smoke".

[19] In Flood, Margaret Farrell commented that the song was a "graceful ballad about getting high", where Lorde sings about the passage of time "over a tenderly plucked electric guitar".

[21] Writing for The Daily Telegraph, Neil McCormick said that "folky jaunt Stoned at the Nail Salon toys lightly with regret".

[36] Billboard writer Hannah Dailey described the performance as "delicate", and called it a "dreamy acoustic version" of "Stoned at the Nail Salon".