By Lauren Zazzara
Features Editor
Lana Del Rey’s music career clearly wasn’t “Born to Die” (the title of her first album), as she released her newest album, “Honeymoon,” on Sept. 19.
“Honeymoon” is Del Rey’s fourth studio album, following up her dark and troubled “Ultraviolence” from 2014.
As compared to the hip-hop influence of “Born to Die” and the murky guitars and rock ‘n’ roll vibe that “Ultraviolence” boasted, “Honeymoon” is much more mellow, cinematic and jazzy.
The opening song and title track features swelling strings, a slow beat and Del Rey’s wide vocal range that create an atmosphere of movie drama. Del Rey creates an image of aimlessly road tripping in Los Angeles.
Del Rey released the first single off the album, “High by the Beach,” on Aug. 10, with the video coming out three days later. The video shows Del Rey shooting down a paparazzi helicopter spying on her beach home.
The theme of being sick of fame carries into the song “God Knows I Tried,” as she said, “I’ve got nothing much to live for ever since I found my fame.”
This album differs from Del Rey’s past work, especially “Born to Die” which glorifies Hollywood and the American Dream. “Honeymoon” finds Del Rey disillusioned with being controlled by fame.
Of course, her usual theme of obsessive relationships pervades this album. In the song “Religion,” she said, “When all my friends say I should take some space/Well I can’t envision that for a minute/When I’m down on my knees, you’re how I pray.” Whereas “The Blackest Day” describes the despair with which Del Rey is reacting to her lover leaving her.
Because all of the songs on the album are slow and sad, they run the risk of all sounding the same on the first listen. Del Rey could have added a few upbeat songs throughout to create some variation among the tracks. But she stays true to her melancholy self with her sound, and upon closer listening, audiences can hear that the songs are quite diverse and a refreshing change of pace from her previous albums.
zazzarlm13@bonaventure.edu
