Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a huge Lana Del Rey fangirl (and just a huge fangirl in general). She is one of my queens and I admire her as an artist; so you can only imagine how excited I was when I found out that she was releasing her new album, Ultraviolence, after two years of touring around the world for her critically acclaimed Born to Die album. My excitement for Ultraviolence was so extreme that I actually drove to Target the morning of its release and bought a physical copy of the album so I could really see and feel the glory of Queen Lana's new gift to the world. I swear from the moment the first song started I was transported to a euphoric paradise. Ultraviolence is brilliant lyrically and since it was produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, the album has a great hazy, soft rock feel that's perfect for summer.
Cruel World
An ode to an ending relationship, "Cruel World" is the perfect opening track. It introduces the rock elements of the album, but doesn't stray too far from the style of Del Rey's past songs. The lyrics also stay true to past songs, referencing the "little red party dress" that she's so fond of.
Favorite lyrics: "Because you're young, you're wild, you're free/You're dancing circles around me/You're fucking crazy"
Ultraviolence
Del Rey's versatile vocals shine with simple piano chords accompanying the verses and diminished drums and a faint, idling guitar riff for the chorus. Fun Fact: in an interview with Kulturenews, Del Rey said that the song is based on her time as a member of an underground sect in New York that was run by a charismatic guru.
Favorite lyrics: "I can hear sirens, sirens/He hit me and it felt like a kiss/I can hear violins, violins/Give me all of that ultraviolence"
Shades of Cool
If you can imagine a slower, more haunting version of the generic ballerina music box song, you have "Shades of Cool". The first time I listened to it, I started thinking of "Blue Jeans" from Born to Die, only with an epic guitar solo during the bridge that almost drowns out the poignant ending lines: "Hot neglectful lover/You're crumbling, sadly/You're sadly crumbling"
Brooklyn Baby
This is the type of song you would listen to on a long drive along the coast with the top down on your convertible. Talking about her infatuation with a rock star boyfriend (but claiming that really she's cooler than he is), and fondly referencing the past ("They think I don't understand the freedom land of the seventies"), "Brooklyn Baby" is definitely a song to listen to with your lover.
Favorite lyrics: "You never liked the way I said it/If you don't get it, then forget it/So I don't have to fucking explain it"
West Coast
Being the first single for the album, it was important that "West Coast" give fans an idea of what Ultraviolence was going to sound like and it didn't disappoint. You can hear touches of The Black Key's sound, courtesy of Dan Auerbach, mixed in with the song's surf rock sound and the way Del Rey casually throws in Spanish phrases that just roll off her tongue make me feel a little guilty about almost failing it my senior year. This track is one of my favorites on the album and I can remember singing the chorus at the top of my lungs in my friend's living room one day during the first week of its release: "I can see my baby swinging/His Parliament's on fire and his hands are up/On the balcony and I'm singing/'Ooh baby, ooh baby, I'm in love'"
Sad Girl
Giving off a very jazzy vibe, "Sad Girl" is another song where Del Rey plays off on one of her favorite subjects: seducing or being admired by a dark and mysterious suitor. One small thing that I love is how she goes from describing herself as "being a mistress on the side" to "being a bad bitch on the side"; using "bitch" as a term of endearment.
Pretty When You Cry
I dub this track Ultraviolence's "Summertime Sadness". The emotion in her voice is what truly makes the song, and then the vengeful guitar solo at the end as she's wailing out the last few lines practically forces you to play air guitar.
Favorite lyrics: "I'll wait for you, babe/That's all I do, babe/Don't come through babe/You never do/Because I'm pretty when I cry"
Money Power Glory
Trying to get a man to leave his current life (and possibly his current wife) in exchange for a more exciting, rich life with her; Del Rey plays the role of the seductress well.
Favorite lyrics: "You talk lots about God/Freedom comes from the call/But that's not what this bitch wants/Not what I want at all"
Fucked My Way Up to the Top
The title itself raises eyebrows. In an interview with Grazia magazine, Del Rey explained that the song is about another artist who originally described her as inauthentic, but ended up copying her musical style (you know, cause she's totally not bitter).
Favorite lyrics: "I'm a dragon, you're a whore/Don't even know what you're good for/Mimicking me is a fucking bore"
Old Money
The use of piano and violins makes this song on reminiscing about luxurious childhood trysts all the more emotional.
Favorite lyrics: "But if you send for me, you know I'll come/And if you call for me, you know I'll run"
The Other Woman
Del Rey closes out the album with a cover of a Nina Simone classic that fits the context of the album perfectly. Keeping true to the original bluesy-ness of the song, her voice quivers and rings out in the right places and the right tone. I'd say that she did the song justice.
Favorite lyrics: "The other woman will always cry herself to sleep/The other woman will never have his love to keep"
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