Review Summary: Though feeling a little misplaced, Lana Del Rey brings a solid effort with her debut.
Lana Del Rey, the self proclaimed "gangsta Nancy Sinatra", has brought a very unusual album to the charts here. "Born to Die" does not sound like a pop-50's blend. I found the whole concept rather odd, to be honest. Low, monotone vocals, to slow songs the whole way through. This album is a blend between lots of genres, from trip hop to R&B, and felt somewhat reminiscent of Amy Winehouse and Adele.
I like the ambition of this album, as though it felt slightly like it was in the wrong time period, it was also rather modern at the same time. If someone like Nancy Sinatra had been introduced to pop, this sounds like the sort of thing she could come up with. The tracks, though at times dreary, were solid. They mostly seemed rather simple, though this didn't take away from their aura. It was very good, though very misplaced and basic.
"Born to Die" and "Video Games" were clear highlights of this album, and though sounding slightly dreary, they were very good singles. "Born to Die" especially stood out due the orchestral work which was well-incorporated into the piece. "Summertime Sadness" also felt like it was one of the stronger tracks, as it seemed to show off a somewhat more pop, contemporary vibe to the album. One thing, however, I noticed about the album was the amount of singles to come off of it. Unusually, eight tracks of the total twelve were released as singles. As only three or four tracks are released as singles, I'm unsure why eight were released over the period of one and a half years.
Though the tracks seemed to be not too loud or heavy, it seemed to have a developed sound. Though at times a tad overproduced, on "Born to Die" for example, the sound was deep and smooth, likely contributing to the eponymous song's popularity. "Video Games" had a unique and rather good introduction, with very few instruments coming together to create a sound that set the mood for the piece.
I have no doubt that Lana Del Rey is an outstanding artist. This album has a lot of flaws (albeit minor), though with Lana releasing such a promising debut, they can be overlooked.
