Lana Del Rey : Did you know that there is a tunnel..."

 At a casual glance this blog might exist for me to review metal and "goth" albums, with darker indie rock thrown in. But I am a fan of all music that is either dark or at the very least carries a thread of melancholy. Some pop music is included in that, and this is not the first album by Lana I have reviewed. I think she has more than enough melancholy to fall neatly within my tastes. This album finds her ditching the spoken word of "Chemtrails" and her last album seemed to be more of the same ole same ole from her, as she languished on the seaside of California. To some extent that is who she is, but she needed to switch it up a bit. This album does that with gospel undertones. 

The first two songs might not be her catchiest work, but they are well done and sit nicely in her wheelhouse. "Sweet" meanders a little more in the stagnant introspection, she feels more inspired on "A&W". Lyrically more biting as it chronicles the experience of an American whore. She sings in the predictably breathy style but bobs and weaves with her phrasing. I like the more electronic shift in production that occurs midway into the song. It goes in an almost hip-hop direction. "Candy Necklace" defaults back into her more standard balladry, though a sultry loneliness is reflected in the distant reverb heavy mix. Stripped down to piano as the focal point creating the backdrop for her reflective alto to drift upon. This album is haunted by several interludes that are like surreal jams.

"Kintsugi' is more of the same put in the microwave for the fourth time. "Fingertips" works of a torch song jazz vocal wandering, with Phil Spector's second hand strings swelling up behind her. "Paris, Texas" has enough nuance to do what the otherwise recycled moments heard previously do but with more conviction. It is still pretty fragile in it's ambiance. "Grandfather, Please..." drifts idly around , not grasping my attention. It takes the more solid melodies of "Let the Light in" to re-engage me. The song features Father John Misty joining her. "Margret" keeps the moment of solid writing. It features Bleachers which grounds it a bit. It feels like her time with Taylor Swift influenced the melodies . This also carries over into 'Fishtail" with more of a modern hip hop nod in the production.

The hip-hop elements continue with "Peppers" .  The refrain of "Hands on your knees Angelina Jolie" is pretty ridiculous, but fun with the silly Tik Tok vibes it invokes. The last song "Taco Truck" calls back to "Venice Bitch". While it's a cool moment it is not the album's most focused song. Overall this album is rainy-day fun, I will give it a 9.