Review | Lana Del Rey – Lust For Life
By Ross Semple
‘When I’m in the middle of making a record – especially now, when the world is in the middle of such a tumultuous period,’ Lana explains in the announcement for Lust for Life, as she considers her contribution to music, ‘amidst all the uncertainty, and as we transition out of one era into another one.’ Political discourse is something Del Rey has only subtly dipped her music into on her past projects, but embarking on the 4th studio album, as things are heating up in America as well as the rest of the world, she explains that in these darker times, she is pondering on what to ‘cook up for the kids today?’
There is, of course, that expected sense of melancholy which is signature to Del Rey, but this record possibly includes a more exercised range of emotions than we’ve seen before. Lead single “Love”, gives us a sense of hope that roots its way throughout several of the 16 tracks, while there’s angrier, unexpected moments such as ‘In My Feelings’. The first half of the album, with singles ‘Love’ and ‘Lust For Life’, follows a trend in more richly produced tracks with the more immediate melodies that harken back to the sound on Lana’s debut, ‘Born To Die’, while the second half feels softer and more insular.
The bridge between the album’s two halves, ‘God Bless America – And All Beautiful Women In It’, feels like the album’s climax, a sudden realisation, as Lana meanders from her usual themes of broken ideals of love, longing and fantasy and reflects on the world she lives in. The song’s meaning feels intentionally confusing in its ferociously patriotic tone, where she sings ‘god bless America’ backed up by the haunting sound of gunshots on every chorus. The track is directly followed by ‘When the World Was at War We Kept Dancing’, and while the previous track may be the apocalypse, this is its aftermath, as Lana asks “is it the end of America?” as she puts her hand out to her listeners and asks them to dance through the chaos and into a new beginning.
Artists are usually commended when delivering a “cohesive” sounding collection of songs, something Lana is no stranger to, as her previous two albums Honeymoon and Ultraviolence were largely commended for achieving this. Yet something about Lust For Life’s slightly disjointed structure, feels correct. There’s a somewhat jarring assortment of different genres here as she goes from hip hop or trap infused songs, ‘Cherry’, ‘Groupie Love’ and ‘Summer Bummer’, and the folkier sounds you hear on the latter half of the album, all of which feels truthful to the chaotic “uncertainty” Lana spoke of when announcing the album.
Having never included a collaboration on one of her albums in the past, Lust For Life gives us five. However, none of these feel like the label interfering to soullessly get her a radio hit, these are organic collaborations from A$AP Rocky; ‘Summer Bummer’, ‘Groupie Love’ ,and The Weeknd on the title track, both of whom she has personal connections to and has worked with previously. ‘Beautiful People, Beautiful Problems’ features the legendary Stevie Nicks, an artist Lana has always greatly admired. And on Lana’s collaboration with Sean Ono Lennon on ‘Tomorrow Never Came’, Lana cutely breaks the fourth wall as she sings “I could put on the radio to our favourite song Lennon and Yoko… Now that I’m singing with Sean”. It’s a minimalistic acoustic track which taps into nostalgia in a way that 2017’s chart toppers only wish they could do so elegantly.
Of course, despite some twists and turns within the intricacies of the songs themselves, we realise that Lana Del Rey’s music is an acquired taste and if you didn’t enjoy her previous albums, you’re unlikely to find much difference here. But for those who have been at any time captivated by her work, this continuation of her journey includes some of her best material. We don’t need Lana to change it up too much when she’s crafted herself her very own genre.
Rating: 4.5/5
Stand out tracks: Love, Lust For Life, 13 Beaches, Cherry, Summer Bummer, In My Feelings, God Bless America and the Women in it (…and pretty much the rest of the album)