At the age of forty-one, I guess I’m probably too old in many people’s eyes to care about the fact that Lana Del Rey’s brilliant song ‘LOVE’ which came out last year, wasn’t a proper hit. Sure there are other things to get worked up about – and I do – but it was brilliant. It was no.2 on the 17 Seconds Festive Fifty, which is what matters, right? 😉

This evening she has unveiled the first of two new tracks she will release this month; ‘Mariners Apartment Complex’ (another track, ‘Venice Bitch’ will be released next Tuesday). She is due to release a new album, and a book of poetry, in early 2019.

This is another brilliant example of Del Rey’s beguiling songwriting and voice. Take the time to listen…

Photo credit: Neil Krug.

Lana Del Rey  has unveiled a new track, ‘Love’ the first track to be revealed from her as-yet untitled new album.

To these ears, it’s one of the finest things she’s ever done. Right up there with ‘Video Games.’ Yet while that track was downbeat, this is actually strangely optimistic. To those who thought that first hit was all she had to offer…she proves you wrong.

Not only that, but the video for the song – which has already got 500,000 views within  a couple of hours of going online – is pretty damn fantastic, too. It starts off like a simple performance video, and then literally reaches for the stars. Fantastic work from director Rich Lee, to accompany a gorgeous pop song. One that stands up to repeated plays.

Lana Del Rey has confirmed that her latest album Honeymoon, will be released on September 18. While the hipsters seemed to turn on her as soon as they’d latched onto her (quelle surprise!) a few years back, I who took a while to fall for ‘Video Games’ and then couldn’t let go, am certainly looking forward to this album.

Whilst there is no confirmed tracklisting that I can find online (as yet), she has so far shared two tracks which give us a flavour of what the album might be like. Summertime noir might be one description.

This is the title track:

This is the new single ‘High By The Beach’ (this video has already racked up several million plays in a matter of days since its release)

Lana Del Rey -‘Ultraviolence.’ (Polydor)

Somehow, sitting down to review the new Lana Del Rey album fills with me with trepidation. It seems that somehow there’s so much baggage amongst reviewers due to the coverage that trying to approach this album at face value is something that many don’t want to do. So to hell with all the other coverage and what has been written about her, is the album actually any good?

Well, assuming this isn’t failing at the first hurdle, it compares fairly favourably to her breakthrough record, Born To Die. Favourably in the sense that if you liked that album – and I did – then the chances are you will like this one. It isn’t much of an advance, but then if you’ve heard ‘Shades of Cool’ and ‘West Coast’ which were doing the rounds ahead of the album, you were quite reasonable to assume that she wasn’t going to start sounding like Peaches or Lydia Lunch.

Having listened to this album, it is a bit of a grower. Her voice is as haunting as it was, but if you check out both album opener ‘Cruel World’ and ‘Black Beauty’ then the album starts to make sense on its own terms. If you can get away from whatever is being written about her this week, then there’s some great bits on this album. No, it won’t change your life, but she’s proved she’s no one hit wonder, either…

***1/2

Ultraviolence is out now on Polydor

Lana Del Rey appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, towards the end of 2011 with her single ‘Video Games.’ I wasn’t too taken with the song at first (which is why the song didn’t appear on my end of year Festive Fifty list), but gradually it grew on me. As did the follow-up single ‘Born To Die.’

What was quite unbelievable, though, was the way that people turned on her quite quickly. Her debut album Born To Die was good, if not spectacular, and yet when that combined with a slightly out of tune performance on Saturday Night Live, you would have thought she was stealing people’s husbands, taking sweets from children and drowning cute fluffy kittens for kicks all at the same time.

However, The album sold well both in the US and UK, and June 16 will see the release of her sophomore album, Ultraviolence.

Two tracks have been released from the album so far, this is the forthcoming ‘Shades Of Cool’ a rather lovely ballad in what seems to be becoming her trademark style:

‘West Coast’ is a different beast entirely, with just a hint of reggae, if you listen very carefully…

The album tracklisting is as follows:

‘Cruel World’
‘Ultraviolence’
‘Shades Of Cool’
‘Brooklyn Baby’
‘West Coast’
‘Sad Girl’
‘Pretty When You Cry’
‘Money Power Glory’
‘Fucked My Way Up To The Top’
‘Old Money’
‘The Other Woman’
‘Black Beauty’ (Bonus track)
‘Guns And Roses’ (Bonus track)
‘Florida Kilos’ (Bonus track)

Lana Del Rey -‘Born To Die’ (Polydor/Interscope)

..so here it comes. The most anticipated debut of 2012, from an act who was barely known six months ago. There probably is a school of thought that argues that given how well this record is likely to do, there’s no point in reviewing it. And some people will be sharpening the knives for the inevitable backlash. Hell, that was starting to happen before the unfortunate TV appearance a week or two ago.

Thing is, for whatever reason (probably to do with only having got 6Music at the start of the year, only reading NME periodically might well be factors), I first heard ‘Video Games’ on the radio. It didn’t blow me away at first – but now it has worked its’ charms on me.

Is it an innovative album that rewrites the rulebook? No – but nor is it an exercise in shameless nostalgia. Taken simply at face value, it is an album of hauntingly beautiful songs. And yes, she’s worked with collaborators on songs- so have most artists since the dawn of time.

The title track you probably know by now, as well as ‘Video Games’. There are other tracks worth seeking out here – after all in this day and age of downloads, there will be many who simply buy the songs they have heard rather than bothering with the entire album (a shame, but this may well be a generational thing). For my money, ‘National Anthem’ and ‘Blue Jeans’ are worth your time too.

Is she a persona as Lana Del Rey, rather than as Lizzie Grant? Perhaps. I’ve not watched the videos – and the more I hear other people talk about and dissect them, I feel like I want to just stick with the music. The album cover reminds me more of Desperate Housewives than anything else, and I don’t feel the urge to do more than just enjoy the sounds, rather than subject the record to huge amounts of over-analysis.

…and on the evidence here, that’s quite enough for me.

***1/2

Born To Die is released on Polydor/Interscope on January 30.