Lana Del Rey – Honeymoon

After two major label releases with global critical acclaim, Lana Del Rey’s new album Honeymoon maintains her considerable reputation, as she brings her unique “Hollywood sadcore” personality back on the mainstream stage. Her latest creation shines with a refined, atmospheric production that meanders freely yet still radiates a seductive quality that’s enough to grab plenty of attention.

An album for the heartbroken, Del Rey touches on depressing themes such as troubled relationships, violence and bitter sadness in her lyrics, which would also come to define the sound world of this grave 14-chapter musical narrative. The music stirs up a rather strange experience that feels like a struggle between a hazy dream world and an auspicious reality translated through the dark stories behind every song. Opening the album is the title track Honeymoon, a languid retro-style lament filled with lush romantic strings that evoke the soundscapes of classic Ennio Morricone Hollywood film scores or the ominous atmosphere of James Bond films. This cinematic, musical language filters through her other songs including Terrence Loves You and the Italian-infused Salvatore, where the melodies croon and orchestral forces unwind gently.

By contrast, tracks like High By The Beach and Art Deco gives off distinctive chilled-out trip-hop and electronic flavours. High By The Beach dozes into a sonic trance from the outset with a spine-chilling organ-like texture, stirring towards a chorus melody with a banshee-like quality to it, accompanied by quivering synth pulses and an unsettling but infectious beat. Daydreaming march-like drumbeats in Art Deco captures the listener in a narcotic “trap music” cage, while doleful strings, cosmic synths and jazzy sax riffs dwindle and fade away in the audible backdrop like misty fog evaporating in mid-air.

Honeymoon is both musically and lyrically powerful. Del Rey pierces the listeners’ emotion with her haunting vocal timbre, self-destructing melodies and melancholy narratives, all coming together to build a musical offering of timeless virtue and raw emotions.

Isaku Takahashi

Honeymoon was released on 18^th September 2015, for further information or to order the album visit here.

Watch the video for Honeymoon here: