If you are a die-hard Lana Del Rey fan and listened to “Did you know there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd” for the first time, you were probably underwhelmed. Underwhelmed and confused. It almost feels wrong to admit to not liking music coming from an artist you’ve felt such a bond with for most of your life, but that’s the thing— she’s not the same artist we all know and love. It just takes time with an album like this to get to know the artist better after a few listens, so take your time with getting to know the new Lana Del Rey.
While most of us had Ultraviolence and Born to Die as the soundtrack to our formative years, it’s hard to imagine that that same dark and achingly romantic tone wouldn’t be on Del Rey’s latest album, and yet here she explores another voice. Don’t get us wrong, that same bird-song cantor that Del Rey has enraptured us with for so long is nothing short of her trademark, but rather she explores a more light-heartened tone combined with that same dark Americana genre that has become so iconic to her brand.
In addition to a recent engagement rumor, Del Rey is now living out the epic romance we all crave when we listen to tracks like “Video Games,” only it’s more fitting to have tracks like “Kintsugi” as the new background for a more content yet equally as intense romance. The term itself, Kintsugi, is defined as the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by using gold or silver lacquer to mend the broken parts. It’s a beautiful way to describe the way that Del Rey and so many of us fix the broken parts of our lives with something even better, an underlying tone for the rest of the album and this new chapter for Del Rey.
But as for her new voice, according to an article by Rolling Stone, it’s been something 11 years in the making. “Lana Del Rey had not felt enthusiastic for more than a decade,” and it was primarily due to the critical response to her 2012 Born to Die. But it was something out of an epiphany that led her out of this emotional rut which translated into the making of this album, “the easiest album she’s ever made.”
But as for the songs themselves, Del Rey never fails to disappoint with her lyrical genius, accompanied by the work of Jack Antonoff, who has worked with the likes of Taylor Swift, Lorde and so many other esteemed artists.
While it’s like asking us to pick our favorite child, here’s a list of some songs off the album that will give not only seasoned listeners something to talk about but also those that are hoping to see what the hype is about Del Rey:
- “Taco Truck x VB”
- “A&W” (yes, it’s a good song despite the fact that it blew up on TikTok)
- “Kintsugi”
- “Let The Light In (feat. Father John Misty)”
- “The Grants”
- “Fingertips”
So don’t hate us for calling the album underwhelming at first, we just didn’t know this was a new era for an artist whose music withstands time, and “Did you know there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd” has only helped make Del Rey’s discography that much more impressive and true to her.
You can direct any and all Lana talk to our Twitter, @VALLEYmag, whether you want to dissect this new album further, predict what her fairytale wedding may soon be looking like or talk about this new era of Lana, something both she and her listeners have been anticipating for a long time.
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