Who is Lana Del Rey? Is she a concept? Is she fake? Is she a daughter of a rich guy? Is she a product? I was never bothered by these questions, while most of my friends reduced their pleasure with Lana Del Rey’s audio and video spectacle due to suspicion that she might be well-recycled PR stunt. Who cares, I say? Even If that is true, why not enjoy the product?
Five years after her first appearance and magnificent Video Games, it seems that Lana Del Rey is a consistent brand. Her melancholic, ennui-saturated, Weltschmerz obsessed and summer Zeitgeist sadness music has drilled its way to something that can be called Del Rey’s niche. In all honesty, I want to call her an artist because there is no one else doing what she is doing. Originality is faculty I value the most when it comes to art, and Mrs Del Rey has certainly proven her idiosyncrasy album after album.
I will leave retrospective of her discography for some other occasion, but now I want to focus on her latest effort that dropped few days ago. Lust for Life is hands down the pinnacle of Del Rey’s craftsmanship, as each one of the tunes sounds brilliant on their own, and they also make super congruent and compatible pieces of the American-themed puzzle Lana always strives to put together. The record is split in two subtle halves: the first one predominantly dealing with love issues, while the latter one offers optimistic perspective on current American issue. So, I am going to briefly dissect both halves.
Mellifluous record unfolds with what might be my favorite Lana Del Rey single yet. Love brings smile not only to my face, but also to the singer’s face in the music video. We are used to seeing her severely serious, or blatantly sad, and Love video was a rare opportunity for us to see Lana smile. Other than emotional shift, the song offers sagacious verses and production that is brought to perfection. You get ready you get all dressed up to go nowhere in particular should be my epitaph, btw. After Love comes album’s second single and the title track. Collaboration with The Weekend does not impress me much, although I was hooked on Take Off All Your Clothes verse for a brief moment. Following two familiar tracks erupts 13 Beaches, the song that I have heard on the beach for the very first time. Lana captured the essence of missing someone who is far away and wanting to be alone in that yearning. The queen of summer longing. Cherry leaked a while ago, and although I don’t find it particularly memorable, it delivers a high-standard lyrics through comparison of love and death sentence. Two features with Asap Rocky are not my cup of tea, although I am glad to see that Lana is finally open to multiple collaborations. The last number worth mentioning from this section of the album is In My Feelings, and it might be the only track that can replace the hype of Summertime Sadness. There is something alluring about the melody line and the way in which the lyrics swing along with it.
A more patriotic, yet not political part of the record starts with God Bless America (And All The Beautiful Women In It), and what a big bang that is. Folky tune comes with two gunshots in the chorus, beautifully and latently castigating gun control issue in United States. Still, the song focuses on all those beautiful and smart people of America who didn’t vote for Trump. When The World Was In War We Kept On Dancing inherits the same folky fashion and then comes the diamond of the record. Beautiful People, Beautiful Problems features Stevie Nicks, the lady of Fleetwood Mac, and the two of them deliver simplicity with such musical divinity that I can not handle it. I need to listen to this song at least ten times everyday t make myself believe it exists. Absolute favorite.
For the rest, I recommend you get the album. It is totally worth it. God knows summer wouldn’t be the same without the queen of summertime forlorn.
