Lana Del Rey
Interscope Records
Four out of Five Stars
I first heard about Lana Del Rey in December when it was announced that Dan Radcliffe would be hosting Saturday Night Live. I had never once known that a woman (tentatively) named Lana Del Rey existed, let alone possessed such raw and beautiful talent. To be frank, I disliked her performance on SNL and was reluctant to listen to studio versions of her music since I'm a big supporter of "If the singer sucks live, they suck. Period." But after watching a couple other performances and listening to 'Video Games' about fifty times, I purchased Born To Die as my first album on my Kindle Fire.
The three most striking songs actually appear mid-album. 'Video Games', 'Diet Mountain Dew', and 'Dark Paradise' triumph over the other songs, but not by much. They all provide a tender look at Del Rey's solemn yet anomaly-like heart and soul. Del Rey presents a vulnerable yet passionate look at love and reluctance and temptation, three concepts of life that seem to harm people the most. Songs like 'Blue Jeans', 'Off to the Races', and 'Carmen' provide a very direct message that is both risky and wondrous at the same time. The title track serves as an anthem of living and loving as a human, and experiencing the faults that are entitled to one's presence on this planet before they pass on. Other songs sort of melt together with aforementioned tracks, such as 'National Anthem' and 'Radio' and 'Carmen.' The final three songs also seem to blend together very well. Although some critics bash the album for its repetitiveness, I praise the catchy hooks of Lana Del Rey's breakthrough record. Lana stated that she doubts that she will even produce a subsequent record, and I actually would concur that that would be a rather wise choice; not in the sense that I hate this record or anything, but in the sense that Lana Del Rey incredibly brilliantly conveyed her messages to the audience and needs to more proof that she has come into her own as a phenomenal vocalist.
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