Ultraviolence to Ocean Blvd

Ultraviolence (2014): Being her second album, Ultraviolence solidified Del Rey’s presence in the music world, as it was both an expansion of her first album, but also a completely different listening experience. With the first track of the album, "Cruel World", taking the listener on a journey of moody lyrics and a style of production that was unseen in her previous work, it is already evident that Del Rey is going in a new direction with her music. In this album, Lana builds a world of love, despair, power, and money – and the tragedy and glamor of it all. Alternating between dark, melancholic tales of unhealthy relationships, drug abuse, promiscuity and light ballads of love and loss, it's almost as if Del Rey takes the listener on a journey through a year (or a couple) in her life. Del Rey combines traditional and “old fashioned” style and references with modern ones that come together on Ultraviolence to create an album that is so versatile and captivating, that even after years of listening I have yet to even come close to getting used to it. 

My favorite Ultraviolence tracks: 

#1 Brooklyn Baby 

#2 Shades of Cool 

#3 Florida Kilos 

Honeymoon (2015): A year later in 2015, Del Rey dropped Honeymoon, a 14 track album, that still stands out among all 8 of her albums to me for its slow and sultry charm that, to me, shows her maturing as an artist. Again, with another entrancing opening track, this one of same name as the album, it sets the tone for the next 13 songs. With her vocals largely carrying the track, she sings about a husband with a dark past, which she is willing to look past in the name of love. This theme of loving dangerous men and the experiences that come with that is prominent within her entire discography, but the Honeymoon album is certainly the pinnacle. With that said, the album also has heavy themes of longing and desire for a different life, while also still carrying that theme of praise of men in her life, and from both the lyrics and production, the listener can feel that Del Rey is going through turmoil with herself and her emotions. As I said, this album feels like the culmination of the themes of the first two albums, which I think was done beautifully, and it almost feels as if Del Rey is closing a chapter of her life with this album, especially ending with a cover of Nina Simone’s “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.” 

My favorite Honeymoon tracks: 

#1 Freak

#2 Art Deco

#3 Salvatore 

Lust for Life (2017): Another two years later, Del Rey released Lust for Life in the summer of 2017, with features from varying artists such as Sean Ono Lennon, Stevie Nicks, A$AP Rocky, Playboi Carti, and The Weeknd. Unfaltering in her songwriting, storytelling, and production capabilities, Del Rey takes us on yet another journey through 16 songs, but this time, the spirit of the album is overall brighter, even within the somber tracks. Del Rey certainly knew what she was doing when releasing this in mid July, as it feels like a summer evening, warm, bittersweet, fleeting, yet hopeful. I never noticed how strong her opening tracks were before I started writing this, but again, the tone is set with “Love,” a song about seeing the beauty in the mundane when you are in love, and when listening, it really is like you are wearing those rose colored lenses. In contrast to her first three albums, this album has an emphasis on change, youth, and freedom. It is as if this album is the result of all that she has been through, written from the other side of all of those experiences that her previous music unveiled. Even the love songs and ballads on the album exude confidence and a femme fatale sort of narrative, such as "Cherry" and "In My Feelings", opposite from her past love songs having undertones of abuse. Additionally, opposite from what we had typically seen in her songs, she does not choose her sadness, as in "Heroin" and "White Mustang", she shows sorrow for the fact that the men she loved had bad habits. This album not only shows the growth and versatility of her musical abilities, but the growth of her as a person.  As she says in the final track, "Get Free", “I never really noticed that I had to decide to play someone’s game or live my own life, now I do, I wanna move out of the black into the blue.” This album is the result of her moving from the darkness to the light. 

My favorite Lust for Life tracks: 

#1 Coachella – Woodstock in my Mind

#2 Heroin

#3 Cherry

Norman Fucking Rockwell (2019): In 2019 Lana Del Rey released Norman Fucking Rockwell! (NFR), which was extremely critically acclaimed and went on to be Grammy-nominated for album of the year. If Honeymoon is the pinnacle of her early work, this album is the pinnacle of her entire career. In my eyes, this album is Del Rey’s artistry in its purest form, each song better than the last, and working together to tell a story. I think it is this cohesiveness that makes the record such a success, as it almost feels more like a movie than an album. I like to think of Del Rey’s music as a timeline of her actual life; the earlier the album, the more young, confused, and impressionable she is. With this view, NFR is her with full clarity about who she is, why she is that way, and how she got there. This is, without a doubt, my favorite album of hers, and my favorite album of all time, and I think it is because of that certainty she has within herself, but also still experiencing that freedom of young love and having hope within her relationships, while still reminiscing on the past. The love songs on this album are more poignant than ever, acknowledging the regrets and pain of her past while knowing that dwelling is only going to hurt her, reaching out to former lovers who now live in different countries just on the off chance that they want to see her again, telling someone not to leave because she “just needs a wake up call.”  On NFR, we see Del Rey grow into who she is, a strong artist and person, but she just can’t leave those parts of herself that we see in the past as well. It is truly a refreshing and moving album in its entirety, for its relatability of becoming the best versions of ourselves, while still carrying some of our most defining traits. 

My favorite NFR tracks:

#1 California

#2 The Greatest

#3 Happiness is a butterfly

Chemtrails Over the Country Club (2021): Del Rey released 2 albums in 2021, the first one being Chemtrails Over the Country Club (COCC), which is the first album where her style is notably different from the previous releases. COCC introduces us to a more folksy side of Del Rey, with lyrically emphasis on religion, the south, the mundane tasks of life, and her exhaustion with fame. It seems to me that Del Rey is reminiscing on her early life pre fame, going back to those roots, not only musically, but she also physically moved out of California. Del Rey has never hesitated to remind listeners that she is just a normal person with normal emotions, but it is evident more than ever through her 2021 albums. The portrayal of love in this album is pure, she talks about being loved for who she truly is and puts an emphasis on the beauty in everyday life, doing the laundry, watching tv, etc… One song that sticks out of the bunch is definitely "Dark But Just A Game", where she talks about the price of fame, and her reluctance to change for others, even mentioning that neither her beauty nor her passion for singing brought her anything but pain. Overall, this album is Del Rey’s return back to who she was before her fame, showing that she still is that person, reminiscing on the good and the bad. 

My favorite COCC tracks: 

#1 Tulsa Jesus Freak 

#2 Dark But Just A Game 

#3 Wild At Heart 

Blue Banisters (2021): Coming out just six months after COCC, Del Rey released her next album, Blue Banisters. This album is a perfect bridge between COCC and her 2023 album Did You Know There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd. Blue Banisters leans more on the folksy side as COCC does, but this album is a lot louder and stronger, in contrast to COCC’s quiet peacefulness. The themes are similar, as we see Del Rey put emphasis on her sense of self, past and present, and how others perceive that. In this album we also see into Del Rey’s family life and her female friendships, which is not a common theme throughout her discography, but this gives the listener a greater connection and understanding to her music. Once again, Del Rey is rediscovering herself and no longer relying on others for happiness, this I think was said best in "Violets for Roses", when she sings, “And God knows the only mistake a man can make is trying to make a woman trade her violets for roses.” I believe this means that she realizes that she can no longer be with people who force her to change into something she is not just because it is beautiful, not to mention her attention to the color blue throughout her music, which is a violet’s color. This album is a fully emotional one, there are really no songs that standout as “fun,” which is not a bad thing, but a reflection of Del Rey’s feelings at the time, optimistic, nostalgic, and a lingering melancholy. 

My favorite Blue Banisters tracks: 

#1 Textbook

#2 Thunder

#3 Dealer 

Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd (2023): Finally, we are up to her latest album, which came out about a year and a half ago, Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (Ocean Blvd for short). As I said, this album is the other end of the bridge that is Blue Banisters between COCC and itself, this is because it is heavily emotional as those two are, but also brings back that fun, free, and strong minded spirit that we saw in Lust for Life, Ultraviolence, and Honeymoon. The ballads on this album are absolute standouts, from "Margaret" to "Let The Light In" to "The Grants", they all are catchy, full of emotion, and easy to relate to. While all of these songs have that Lana Del Rey charm and persona, they are so refreshing in the way that they are a mix of her early style and also that folk style we saw in 2021, which is why I think NFR and Ocean Blvd stick together as complete records, they are both combinations of Del Rey’s wide range of lyricism and production. However, on Ocean Blvd, we get more songs where Del Rey is being satirical, humorous, and just having fun, such as "Peppers" and "Taco Truck x VB" (which is a remix of an NFR song). Another standout from this album, and her entire discography, has to be "Kintsugi", which tells about the birth of her siblings and the death of a loved one, and all the thoughts that ensue when going through something like that. Del Rey does not shy away from vulnerability, but this is certainly a new level of emotional intimacy within her music. In the song, Del Rey explains that being broken is how the light gets in, as she finds the silver lining within her struggles. 

My favorite Ocean Blvd tracks: 

#1 The Grants

#2 Fishtail

#3 Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd

The last ten years of Lana Del Rey’s career have been nothing but successful. Del Rey’s ability to grow and flourish so regularly as an artist while remaining consistent is exactly why fans keep coming back for more, including me. She artfully adds to this world she has created without being redundant or straying too far from her roots, breaking down barriers that many would hesitate to. The impact of her artistry is prominent in many popular artists today, and likely will be for decades to come. Personally, I think she is one of the greatest artists of all time and completely changed the music industry. Lana Del Rey was the soundtrack to my adolescence, and still is to my adulthood so far. After hearing Love from Lust for Life just before my freshman year of high school, I was so hooked and haven’t stopped listening since. Her music has not only been an outlet for me, as all music is, but has connected me to people I now consider great friends, made so many happy memories for me, and inspired me in so many ways. I hope that this review can be your introduction to her music or give you more appreciation for her art. Thank you so much for reading! 

Fun Fact: Lana Del Rey committed to Geneseo at one point! 

Christine Clayback is a Senior at SUNY Geneseo and is the host of "The Playback," airing Thursdays at 7PM on 89.3 WGSU.  She is also a member of the Music Selection Team.