Lana Del Rey : "Chemtrails Over the Country Club"

 

She breaks out of her formula vocally right from the onset . When My wife asked me to let her know how it is the first thing I told her was it sounds more like Tori Amos than what she normally does. She is singing in a higher register, in whisper she lets crack. The mood makes me think she has been paying attention to Taylor Swift's quarantine output. By the title track we are back to a more familiar sound from here. It is piano based and ballad like.  Things get into more of a dreamy groove on "Tulsa Jesus Freak" that has more of the attitude you love her for though dialed back through a filter of Xanax. I told my wife I think Lana is on an IV drip of Xanax as that is the mood this album has so far. She has not been in the adoration of the press but does not care enough to get cancelled so I am sure she is high as hell and more power to her for it. 

All of her normal magic should work on " Let Me Love You Like a Woman" , but I think it is that cloud of Xanax that is keeping it from connecting like the first three songs , but it might have to grow on me. Her albums tend to do that. "Wild at Heart" finds her teetering on dialing it in. The arrangement so so minimal there is not much to really give the song a back bone to latch onto until at the chorus. The lyrics to improve on this one though. There is more of a detached melancholy to " Dark But Just a Game". The beat to this song, helps give a dynamic shift to the album.  She does have a way of letting melodies wander then reeling them back in. If lets them drift out of her reach on "Not All Who Wander Are Lost". When they do use guitar to bring it back together, it is slight wandering too much though not lost.  

"Yosemite" is another delicate flower of a song. I imagine the writing process for this album was her saying , "Ok, roll the tape I am high and it's raining outside, I will just come up with some shit". There are songs liek this that are pleasing to my ears, and good back ground music but not her knocking it out of the park like she did on her last album. "Breaking  Up Slowly" is more country thanks to singer Niki Lane who lends her voice to this one. '\Dance Til We Die" is not a song to dance to, unless you are ready for a nap. If this was Marissa Nadler I might be more stoked about the lethargy that weighs on the bulk of this album. The song does pick up in the last minute, but we need more of that. For the last song she is joined by Zell Day and Weyes Blood. It is yet another overly languid piano ballad.  I will give this album a 9, which makes it a great album unless you are comparing it "Norman Fucking Rockwell" then it is not as impressive. If you are a fan there is enough of what she does to keep you from content and bitching any more than what I am doing here. 

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