Lana Del Rey - Lust for Life

Lana Del Rey
Lust for Life
2017
Spotify

Lust for Life is the fourth studio album from Lana Del Rey. One thing that is vividly clear on this album is that the persona that for so long was dissected and critiqued was more than just a gimmick. Lana Del Rey is the persona, or maybe the person or maybe both but the taste of Lana Del Rey is so clearly defined by this sort of soupy dream pop. She's never really tried to shift towards pop, or shift her music really at all, she's not following trends, she's trying to overcome them. The epic "Love" opens the record, and the sweet smile on the album cover really sits in juxtaposition to how moody the song is, and the album for that matter. Her music sucks you in to the deep water, showing you images of Hollywood's former glory now submerged, destroyed and still under the ocean. It's bleak but highly emotional, always keeping the hope of complete love as the center of everything despite the destruction that might be surrounding us. Lust for Life can all at once be wildly beautiful but also so dark and forbidding. "13 Beaches" begins with this really pretty orchestral music, but then drops into an almost hip hop inspired beat during the chorus. It takes you on a such a vivid journey, you can feel each grain of sand as Del Rey takes you up the west coast. The change on this record however is it is now less about her and more about the story. She was always the focus, the persona, the driving force of the music, but now it can almost exist outside of her. It will always be her singular voice, but now all that American iconography can shine on it's own.

You'll hear the hit of a trap "skrrt" on "White Mustang" as well as features from A$AP Rocky and The Weeknd blending in some elements of hip hop into the record. it is done so tastefully though unlike someone like Katy Perry who on her record seemed to throw in hip hop because it's what you do in 2017. There are a few times where Del Rey's songwriting does fail her a bit on this record. "Groupie Love" doesn't quite make sense, and "Coachella - Woodstock in My Mind" both refernce festival performances and you can't help but cringe. It seems far to on the nose for this album and appeal to such a specific fan base. The length is also an issue, because Lana Del Rey's songs are so slippery and slow it takes time for them to unfold. Putting 16 of those songs on a record is just way to much music even if it is really good. Most of this takes place in the middle of the record which tends to make it feel even longer. The last two tracks seem to be the real summation of everything as Del Rey sings with just her and a piano on "Change" a departure form the other more grand tracks on the record. It is when we have just Her stripped away that we really get to see why Lana Del Ray is more than just a persona, and maybe it's time to stop assuming she is not.

8.6 out of 10