Review Summary: The album where Lana finally finds here true voice. Metaphorically and literally, that is.
Before I put this record on I didn’t have high hopes about it. I thought ‘’Oh it is Lana’s third disc. It will probably be identical to her previous one, sharing the same style and weaknesses. Boy was I wrong. This album is miles ahead of everything Lana has done in the past and it is her more complete work so far.
Born To Run definitely showcased signs of brilliance in songs like
Video Games,
Blue Jeans,
Million Dollar Man and
Summertime Sadness, but in this album you are not treated with signs. It
is brilliant.
This album is generally more blues-oriented than the last ones, but don’t expect any hardcore blues jams from this one. No, it is blues in atmosphere and arrangements as the prominent instrument here is the guitar, never becoming fully distorted and never approaching ‘’blues-wailing’’ , but preserving a cold, dark tone and subtle (for the most part) playing. And Lana’s voice here is much more sincere and emotional than ever, because she has ditched the ‘’pretentiousness’’ veil off her, allowing us to see her real face. Wait, the album is not 100% sincere because there is still a little tiny problem called ‘’average lyrics’’ but as far as music goes, I can’t deny it. She is sensational.
The best example of this change in attitude is
Shades Of Cool, which might be the single best song in here. It contains my all-time favorite performance by her, because it is so damn uplifting and genuine in its emotions that I was terrified when I first heard it. The intro is pure blues sadness, while the chorus is the most cathartic moment on the record with Lana singing a terrific ascending melody that gives me
the chills whenever I hear it. And the guitar solo -while a trifle generic- is quite powerful. But it isn’t only that song that qualifies as emotional, sincere and well-written. The first
seven tracks here are all
highlights. A song like
Brooklyn Baby cannot go unnoticed. The mid-tempo guitar strumming accompanies Lana's singing perfectly and the part where she sings ‘’And my jazz collection's rare, I can play most anything’’ is a focal point in the song. Not the lyric, the hook! And how about
Sad Girl which boasts clever interweaved electric and classical guitars that underline Lana’s voice and make the atmosphere warmer? Parts of the melody might remind you of
Shades Of Cool but it is only a minor complaint. The opening
Cruel World has a subtly distorted electric guitar and cool drumming, while the highlight of the track is the pre-chorus which is a neat hook. It
is a bit overlong, yes, but it is such a great song that it doesn’t really matter.
And while
Ultraviolence has a somewhat clichéd intro, with the violin and an overused chord progression that spoil the picture a bit, it is more than redeemed by the astonishing melody of the verses and chorus. The hypnotic wah-wah guitars that appear on it extend the blues feel of the album.
West Coast has more intense drumming and fittingly, a more rhythmic melody. The guitars in the background give texture to the song and the shift in tempo on the chorus is fantastic, as well as the synthesizer that is introduced later and gives more depth to the track.
Pretty When You Cry is an improvised-on-the-spot-song as Lana has said, but the melody is still well-written. The dramatic and theatric nature of the song is aptly captured by the recording and the guitar shines on the introduction and the -once again- very powerful guitar solo.
Another big highlight includes the final track,
The Other Woman which is a Nina Simone cover. It showcases both Rey’s ability for inspired performances and her affection for the original tune. It is not better than Nina’s rendition, but I think it is a rather unfair comparison for Lana to pit her against Simone. Still, the song stands on its own, as Lana gives her own impression of it which is highly sincere
again. And the ascending passages that she throws in at the end of each chorus -not present in the original as far as I remember- are phenomenal. It just goes to show, as the whole album too, that when Lana frees herself from pretentiousness, she can be masterful.
Tracks 8,9,10 are not highlights, but they are good anyway.
Money Power Glory has a good melody no doubt, but is not what you’d call a great song because there’s not much to it besides the chorus.
***ed My Way Up To The Top has again a clichéd chord progression but this time around, no matter how beautifully Lana sings, she can’t save it from being a somewhat fillerish track.
Old Money is a bit better, because its melody is based on the main theme of the soundtrack for the Romeo and Juliet 1968 film. Very good song but somewhat flaccid.
In conclusion, I personally believe that this is the best Rey album so far. The reasons are the greatly improved songwriting, as nearly every song (well, the highlights at least) boasts equally attention-grabbing verses, choruses, pre-choruses and bridges. As a result, the lack of diversity in this album doesn’t matter that much because the songs are so well-written in the first place that they transcend the similarities of the album, thus making it a well-paced and enjoyable listen. And while the lyrics are still rooted in the tradition of pseudo-nostalgia and pompousness, this time your focus will be primarily on the music itself and nothing else. Let’s hope that she continues moving forwards and never look back again.
