Music Monday just got a little more interesting thanks to our girl Lana. I've been a long time listener to Ms. Del Rey and I'll admit it, I'm biased at this point. This is simply because the first time I listened to her music, I was captivated. It transported me into a authentically, emotional state, something not every artist these days is capable of doing. It was mesmerizing and I felt a since of understanding within her lyrics.
Lana's fan base has grown a large amount since her first studio album, and this is due to the incredible evolution she has had as an artist over the past few years. In her early years, she was criticized for her lack of vocal talent and submissively, sexual lyrics. With verses like "It's you, it's you/ it's all for you/ Everything I do" and "I will love you 'til the end of time/ I would wait a million years", she's not your mama's kind of artist. After her first studio album, Lana Del Rey was known as "the girl that sings Summertime Sadness."
As she's come into her own element and embraced her true sound, she has blossomed. We saw a glimpse of this in her second album, Ultraviolence. It was a dark and twisted sound that transported and shocked some fans compared to the upbeat hip- hop trademark of Born To Die. It was so eerie, dark and sad, but as the album went on, it never reached it's peak.
But in her most recent album, entitled Honeymoon she has given us the perfection of all her past work. Unlike her past reviews, her critics are boasting of her perfected new sound. Billboard said "Lana's Honeymoon proves she shouldn't be underestimated." "Honeymoon acknowledges what, or rather who, we are here for." said Pitchfork. Rolling Stone warns, "If the pop star's guitar-laced 2014 LP, Ultraviolence, was a one-night stand with a new sound, her follow-up is the morning after — the moment when Del Rey gets back to what she's best at."
Since the album's release, I've been pretty shocked. As a fan, I was not ready for what she was going to throw at us next. It's a sound so new, yet so old. When I decided to listen, it was about 11:30 the night before the release. My preorder had come through early and I decided to lay in bed with my earphones in to listen from beginning to end. A perfect setting for Lana's usual sound, except this wasn't her usual sound. When I finished with the album, I didn't really know what to think.
By the next morning, the initial shock was gone and I caught onto the sound and feel of what she was trying to do. I found myself getting the catchy words from songs like "Freak" and "High By The Beach" stuck in my head and feeling the rich emotions behind songs like "God Knows I Tried" and "The Blackest Day." It was a nice mix of sounds old and new. Some cinematic, some upbeat, some dark and sincere as we've seen before, but all with a new confidence and authenticity. In Lana's own words, "It's the word that sums up the ultimate dream. I mean, life is a honeymoon, y’know?? Life, love, paradise, freedoms … that’s forever” and from her success on this album, it seems she gotten her honeymoon by executing her deepest and truest sound.
What will she do next?
