LANA DEL REY
7
Ultraviolence
Interscope/Polydor (2014)
“Ultraviolence is not an easy album to ingest... It’s not excellent but it’s not bad at all, maybe there’s more about Del Rey than it meets the eye.” Long gone are the days that Elizabeth Woolridge Grant was known as May Jailer or Lizzy Grant, but now she’s mostly known as Lana Del Rey. When “Video Games” video hit Del Rey’s YouTube page, everyone was caught up with this wonderful, seductive singer. She was this new intriguing pop star on the rise and this was for sure the key moment of her career. After some rumors and controversy about her past or whatever it was about, the New Yorker singer made her major step by releasing the album Born To Die. Her powerful voice is the main instrument; her peculiar lyrics make everyone wondering what’s in her mind; and her music has this distinguish cinematic sound with pop culture in the mix. Lana Del Rey has been on an upward spiral of success and after
dismissing the idea of not releasing another album - because she had “already said everything [she] wanted to say” - she proves with Ultraviolence that she still had a lot to say. While promoting this new album, she did some controversy interviews and so the press has been around her neck lately - which it’s comprehensive, considering that she said “feminism is not an interesting concept” or “I wish I was dead already”. Despite all that bullshit, it’s with this new album that Del Rey’s shows her true artistry as a musician and as a person: she’s mysterious, unpredictable, enchanting, turbulent. Having Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach as the main producer, Ultraviolence is filled with ballads à lá 007’s flicks and
FOR FANS OF:
ESSENTIAL TRACKS:
Lorde, London Grammar, Banks
desert rock tunes with impressive guitar solos, giving an extra confidence in Del Rey’s voice and now she really knows how to use her voice as a mesmerizing instrument. Ultraviolence has some very suggestive song titles. Tracks like “Pretty When You Cry” and “Ultraviolence” keep showing her submission to a man’s love as she sings “He hit me and it felt like a kiss”; “Sad Girl” and “The Other Woman” are about the mistress’ eternal solitude. Her lyrics say a lot - directly or indirectly - and sometimes that’s the magic around this artist that makes us intrigued if we love her or if we hate her. Ultraviolence is not an easy album to ingest, but at the same time it’s as simple as it gets. It’s not excellent but it’s not bad at all, maybe there’s more about Del Rey than it meets the eye.
Cruel World, Brooklyn Baby, West Coast
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ANDREIA ALVES
99