In between hanging with her enviably fabulous squad and stunning at events like the Met Gala (or “a wild beautiful fashawwn ball,” as she calls it), Lorde is also managing to find time to record her sophomore album. It’s been two whole years since she burst onto the scene with 2013’s Pure Heroine, and we’re dying to hear what the alt-pop sensation has in store. After all, her life has changed dramatically since her debut — surely, by now, she’s seen a diamond in the flesh and flown on her first airplane.

In a new Tumblr post, the 18-year-old candidly updated fans on the album’s status, assuring them that after some much-needed time off, she’s underway on her “next body of work,” which she admits is “very exciting and scary but SO VALIDATING.”

Possibly hinting at what we can expect the album to sound like, she shared a story about being in the studio with friends recently and posing a question about which one song they would “send into space, to live on forever.” Her pals offered up some intriguing suggestions, like Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” and The Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows.” But for her own space capsule song, Lorde chose Robyn’s 2010 dance hit “Dancing On My Own.”

Inspired by the website One Week One Band — where writers offer in-depth insights on a single artist for a whole week — Lorde delved into some heavy analysis of the track, detailing how it emotionally and physically affects her.

“this song, to me, is perfect,” she wrote. “it’s happy and sad, fiery and independent but vulnerable and small, joyous even when a heart is breaking. every line is perfect, how that second verse (“stilettos and broken bottles / i’m spinning around in circles”) stumbles perfectly into that bridge (”the lights go on, the music dies / …i just came to say goodbye”), and final chorus. it’s just perfect.

“we put it on right there in the studio, and i was up out of my seat dancing with my eyes screwed shut, and my hands up around my ears, and we looked into each other’s eyes and sang the words, and i could feel something hot and teary in the back of my throat just from FEELING so much at once,” she continued. “and i think it was then when i realized i’m going to be in love with music for the rest of my life. it’s going to be the most important friendship i’ll ever have. i’ll never, ever leave it alone, because you can’t leave alone something like that, something that makes you weep alone on aeroplanes or jolts you out of a chair and shatters your face with a big toothy smile.”

She added that this “cool, intense revelation” about her connection with music was especially important in framing her approach to album number two.

“first records are like meeting someone and feeling that need to do everything, just in case for whatever reason, you run out of time, or they stop feeling the same way as you,” she wrote. “i feel much calmer, more comfortable in my love of doing this, and its apparent love of me, this time around. so there’s that.”

Lorde capped her post by assuring her fans she’s taking her time to “make the new stuff as good as i can.”

Thus far, no release date has been announced for her sophomore record. But as her post makes clear, Lorde seems to be in an inspired, confident mindset, so we can’t wait to hear what she has up her sleeve!