Lana Del Rey offers more of the same

“Blue hydrangea, cold cash divine, cashmere, cologne and white sunshine,” goes the lines of a song by Lana Del Rey in Ultraviolence. 

Lana is what intellectually-gifted 13-year-olds want to be when they are wanting in the looks department and unable to get dates with dumb boys their age. So they dream of decadence. They know the meaning of the word anyway. They smoke, dress in black, wear thick eye make-up and dream of living in New York or Paris where they will have lots of lovers and write poetry. 

I do not know if the lovely Lana dreamt of such things. But while most girls just grow up, Lana remade herself into that image. Lana is moody, dark and very disquieting. She sings bits of poetry with hushed, breathy tones while looking world weary in total loveliness. Why she even changed her name to conform with the image. The former Lizzy Grant from Lake Placid in New York became Lana Del Rey, citizen of the world, equally at home on the beaches of Cuba and the sidewalks of Paris.

Lana burst on the international music scene two years ago with her darkly glamorous Born To Die album. Discovered in the Internet through her original songs and videos she shot and edited on her laptop, Lana was an instant sensation with over a million in sales worldwide. She echoed a unique mix of Juliette Greco, Debbie Harry and Bjork and alongside mom Adele, girl-next-door Taylor Swift and all those other girls who looked and sounded alike, Lana came across as new and different. 

Lana offers more of the same in her second album titled Ultraviolence which debuted a few weeks ago in Billboard’s Top 200 Albums chart. With utmost sophistication, the alternately playful and torchy Lana seesaws between the West Coast, of which she sings, “Down on the West Coast they got a sayin’ Being a mistress on the side might not appeal to fools like you and New York, specifically Brooklyn where my jazz collection’s rare, I can play most anything. I’m a Brooklyn baby.” 

Such writing with lots of pop references was what made Born To Die a huge success and there is a lot of them in Ultraviolence like “All the pretty stars shine for you my love, am I that girl that you dream of?” or “Lay me down tonight in my linens and curls. Lay me down tonight I’m your favorite girl.” Lyrics such as these set against music with other-worldly effects combine into an intriguing whole. I think of an old weird kiddie  flick with Christina Ricci in it or a B-police drama from the ’50s and Lana’s music will be at home in both of them.

 What Lana has in Ultraviolence is a total product with the songs balanced by other songs and themes by other themes. So, although eerie at times, it makes for a smooth ride in its entirety. Note that Lana also performs with more confidence and has now added the sweet, higher registers of her vocals into the mix. Very nice.

All of the songs were co-written by Lana except The Other Woman which is by Jessie Mae Robinson. Cuts included are Cruel World, Ultraviolence, Shades of Cool, Brooklyn Baby, West Coast, Sad Girl, Pretty When You Cry, Money Power Glory, F**ked My Way Up To The Top and Old Money.

And now for a look at the hit lists of the US, here are the Top 20 titles in the latest Top 200 Albums and Hot 100 singles lists:

The albums: Blacc Hollywood by Wiz Khalifa; Guardians Of The Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1 Soundtrack by Various Artists; Ignite The Night by Chase Rice; Now 51 by Various Artists; Nashville Outlaws: A Tribute To Motley by Crue; Frozen Soundtrack by Various Artists; In The Lonely Hour by Sam Smith; 5 Seconds Of Summer by 5 Seconds Of Summer; Space Invader by Ace Frehley; X by Ed Sheeran.

Crash My Party by Luke Bryan; Smokey & Friends by Smokey Robinson; The Breeze – An Appreciation Of JJ Cale by Eric Clapton & Friends; The New Classic by Iggy Azalea; 1000HP by Godsmack; Hypnotic Eye by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers; Native by OneRepublic; Just As I Am by Brantley Gilbert; Platinum by Miranda Lambert; and Now 50 by Various Artists.

The Singles:  Shake It Off by Taylor Swift; Anaconda by Nicki Minaj; All About That Bass by Meghan Trainor; Stay With Me by Sam Smith; Rude by MAGIC!; Black Widow by Iggy Azalea featuring Rita Ora; Break Free by Ariana Grande featuring Zedd; Chandelier by Sia; Bang Bang by Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj; Am I Wrong? by Nico & Vinz.

Fancy by Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX; Boom Clap by Charli XCX; Problem by Ariana Grande feat. Iggy Azalea; Maps by Maroon 5; Rather Be by Clean Bandit feat. Jess Glynne; Bailando by Enrique Iglesias feat. Descemer Bueno & Gente de Zona; Latch by Disclosure feat. Sam Smith; Don’t Tell ‘em by Jeremih feat. YG; Shower by Becky G; and All Of Me by John Legend.