Review of NFR - Lana Del Rey
By Georgina Blackburn
Lana Del Rey’s highly anticipated new album Norman F*****g Rockwell arrived this year on March 30th, followed by a heavy stream of critical acclaim. After a controversial debut, Lana has, is the last decade, developed into a respected and popular artist, winning a Brit Award for International Female Artist and being nominated for several Grammy’s. NFR echoes a rather different tone to her previous albums, despite them all being topical and themed sonically differently to each other, quite deliberately. It has a Singer-Songwriter feel to it, and seems almost a reflection of her journey as an artist in modern society.
The album opens with the stripped-back, piano-led, light-hearted title track. With lyrics like “Goddamn, man-child” and “Self-loathing poet, resident Laurel Canyon, know-it-all” he muses playfully about an artistic and pretentious man, a Norman Rockwell-type character, hence the album name. The song is led out by light and sparkly vocals, almost sung through a smile.
“Mariners Apartment Complex” one of my favourites, follows. The song’s confident and headstrong yet equally tender lyrics match the strong production, the melody carrying the lyrics rather than vice versa. “You're lost at sea, then I'll command your boat to me again” and “I'm your man” give a feel for Lana’s protective feel for whomever she’s singing to, the whole song comes off as assertive and consoling.
“Venice Bitch” comes next, an almost 10 minute song of beautiful, dreamy lyrics and ever-changing, almost psychedelic production in parts. The song is more a stream of thought, maybe even a poem, than a song, there’s barely a chorus and the melody changes throughout. Despite this, it is somehow cohesive; the muses of a perfect life with her partner at the beginning begin to fade off into an instrumental, littered with poetic imagery and muttered after-thoughts (“Oh, oh, oh, oh, whatever/Everything, whatever”. “Crimson and clover, honey/Over and over, honey” is repeated as the song fades out. Before a definite end with “If you weren't mine, I'd be/Jealous of your love”.
“F**k it I love you” is a shorter, more repetitive yet equally as dreamy feat. The weird and slightly unsettling production somehow works, and creates a unique feel to the almost autobiographical song. Lana sings in relaxed fashion “So I moved to California, but it's just a state of mind/It turns out everywhere you go, you take yourself, that's not a lie” comparing her life “before” to the way things are for her now, very implicitly. The song is almost aboit herself, hidden behind the facade of a love song, a common trick for her.
“Doin’ Time”, the album’s fifth track takes the form of an almost bluesy-reggae style track infused with a relaxed and catchy beat throughout. Although it is a cover of a Sublime song, it has been remade and polished in a way that is unmistakably Lana. One of the most accessible from the album, the song did well on the radio over the summer and attracted attention to the album from a wider audience.
Contrasting heavily to the previous song, “Love Song” follows. Its gentle melody compliments the gentle lyrics, it is strangely honest and peaceful for a Lana Del Rey song, with lyrics like “I believe that you see me for who I am” and “be my once in a lifetime” displaying a healthy and content relationship, a rarity for her songs. The song is intimate and seems almost an invasion of her privacy, in the best way possible.
“Cinnamon Girl” is next, a favourite from her album by many. The honest and yet sweetly open nature of the sing is complimented by delicate vocals and confessive lyrics, like “there’s things I want to say to you, but I’ll just let you live/Like if you hold me without hurting me, you’d be the first who ever did”. As the song develops towards the end, her voice heightens and begins to sound more desperate, yet strangely calming.
Coherently carrying on from this is the reflective “How to disappear”, a content and beautifully produced feat, and hardly as depressing as the title suggests. The string of irregular beats that dominate the production give an oddly satisfying affect, and with lyrics like “Joe met me down at the training yard/Cuts on his face 'cause he fought too hard/I know he's in over his head.” The song references use of drugs as escapism, and begins rather autobiographically, before developing into a dream sequence of her future life in the last verse. It’s loaded lyrics and affective production works effortlessly to convey a mood of reflection and hope.
The greatest is one of the instant classics from the album, the steady build-up of the song and the timeless feel adding to the overall theme of a good-bye to what once was. `The culture is lit and I’ve had a ball / I guess that I’m signing off after all” gives an idea of this being Lana’s swan song, making the crescendo of the song even more emotive and memorable.
‘hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have-but I have it’ is the last song on the album, a simplistic, confessional diary entry of a song. The lyrics are raw and honest, and the gentle melody carries them perfectly. A stand-out feat from the album, it coherently marks the closing of the album and summarises the personal and exposed theme that has been building up throughout. Whispery and haunting, the style matches the lyrics beautifully.
The album opens with the stripped-back, piano-led, light-hearted title track. With lyrics like “Goddamn, man-child” and “Self-loathing poet, resident Laurel Canyon, know-it-all” he muses playfully about an artistic and pretentious man, a Norman Rockwell-type character, hence the album name. The song is led out by light and sparkly vocals, almost sung through a smile.
“Mariners Apartment Complex” one of my favourites, follows. The song’s confident and headstrong yet equally tender lyrics match the strong production, the melody carrying the lyrics rather than vice versa. “You're lost at sea, then I'll command your boat to me again” and “I'm your man” give a feel for Lana’s protective feel for whomever she’s singing to, the whole song comes off as assertive and consoling.
“Venice Bitch” comes next, an almost 10 minute song of beautiful, dreamy lyrics and ever-changing, almost psychedelic production in parts. The song is more a stream of thought, maybe even a poem, than a song, there’s barely a chorus and the melody changes throughout. Despite this, it is somehow cohesive; the muses of a perfect life with her partner at the beginning begin to fade off into an instrumental, littered with poetic imagery and muttered after-thoughts (“Oh, oh, oh, oh, whatever/Everything, whatever”. “Crimson and clover, honey/Over and over, honey” is repeated as the song fades out. Before a definite end with “If you weren't mine, I'd be/Jealous of your love”.
“F**k it I love you” is a shorter, more repetitive yet equally as dreamy feat. The weird and slightly unsettling production somehow works, and creates a unique feel to the almost autobiographical song. Lana sings in relaxed fashion “So I moved to California, but it's just a state of mind/It turns out everywhere you go, you take yourself, that's not a lie” comparing her life “before” to the way things are for her now, very implicitly. The song is almost aboit herself, hidden behind the facade of a love song, a common trick for her.
“Doin’ Time”, the album’s fifth track takes the form of an almost bluesy-reggae style track infused with a relaxed and catchy beat throughout. Although it is a cover of a Sublime song, it has been remade and polished in a way that is unmistakably Lana. One of the most accessible from the album, the song did well on the radio over the summer and attracted attention to the album from a wider audience.
Contrasting heavily to the previous song, “Love Song” follows. Its gentle melody compliments the gentle lyrics, it is strangely honest and peaceful for a Lana Del Rey song, with lyrics like “I believe that you see me for who I am” and “be my once in a lifetime” displaying a healthy and content relationship, a rarity for her songs. The song is intimate and seems almost an invasion of her privacy, in the best way possible.
“Cinnamon Girl” is next, a favourite from her album by many. The honest and yet sweetly open nature of the sing is complimented by delicate vocals and confessive lyrics, like “there’s things I want to say to you, but I’ll just let you live/Like if you hold me without hurting me, you’d be the first who ever did”. As the song develops towards the end, her voice heightens and begins to sound more desperate, yet strangely calming.
Coherently carrying on from this is the reflective “How to disappear”, a content and beautifully produced feat, and hardly as depressing as the title suggests. The string of irregular beats that dominate the production give an oddly satisfying affect, and with lyrics like “Joe met me down at the training yard/Cuts on his face 'cause he fought too hard/I know he's in over his head.” The song references use of drugs as escapism, and begins rather autobiographically, before developing into a dream sequence of her future life in the last verse. It’s loaded lyrics and affective production works effortlessly to convey a mood of reflection and hope.
The greatest is one of the instant classics from the album, the steady build-up of the song and the timeless feel adding to the overall theme of a good-bye to what once was. `The culture is lit and I’ve had a ball / I guess that I’m signing off after all” gives an idea of this being Lana’s swan song, making the crescendo of the song even more emotive and memorable.
‘hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have-but I have it’ is the last song on the album, a simplistic, confessional diary entry of a song. The lyrics are raw and honest, and the gentle melody carries them perfectly. A stand-out feat from the album, it coherently marks the closing of the album and summarises the personal and exposed theme that has been building up throughout. Whispery and haunting, the style matches the lyrics beautifully.