Lana Del Rey – Lust For Life
(Interscope)
Reviewed by Bridget Herlihy.
One of the world’s most adored femme fatales Lana Del Rey has returned with her fourth full-length album under her pseudonym, Lust For Life. Eagle-eyed Lana Del Rey fans were quick off the mark to observe that there is something markedly different about the cover art for the chanteuse’s latest release. Unlike her previous releases, which have featured a sultry, brooding image, in contrast Lust For Life features a smiling del Rey; a subtle yet significant change that appears to be indicative of shift not only in her worldview, but in the tone of the album itself. While del Rey’s vocals remain as hauntingly beautiful as always, many of the tracks that appear on the album have an added element of lightness to them. Opening track Love fittingly sets the scene for the album, a stripped back ballad of hope dripping in 1960s nostalgia oozing in the sweetness “to be young and in love”. Unsurprisingly, much of the album’s theme is dedicated to various forms of love, loss, life and lust. Title track Lust For Life featuring The Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye) is arguably one of the best vocal pairings of the year, their voices complimenting each other perfectly; a track which encourages us to grasp hold of that lust for life and live like there is no tomorrow.
Tesfaye is one of several guest appearances on the album; beat laden Summer Bummer features mid-song rhymes from A$AP Rocky and Playboi Carti (a juxtaposition which at times sounds somewhat out of place), while Rocky appears again in the ‘60s inspired mellow ballad Groupie Mellow in a less genre-defying appearance. Tomorrow Never Came featuring Sean Lennon is a subtle nod to the Beatles (circa Yellow Submarine era), with Lennon sounding distinctly like his late father. Beautiful People Beautiful Problems includes an appearance from Stevie Nicks, another enviable pairing, and no doubt another tick off del Rey’s bucket list.
Lust For Life at times gives the impression of being an album of two halves, with the first half being quintessentially del Rey as her most wonderful hauntingly sorrowful and melancholy self, with the divine Cherry, White Mustang and In My Feelings some of the strongest tracks on the album. The second half, on the other hand, provides a picture of the effects of the current political climate in the United States. Tracks God Bless America – And All The Beautiful Women In It and When The World Was At War We Kept Dancing provide some lyrical positivity and a reminder of the simplicity of yesteryear, in an environment that is anything but, while questioning the “is it the end of America?” The answer: “No, it’s only the beginning, if we hold onto hope”. Simple yet wise words in a dark and uncertain epoch.
Although sporadically disjointed, Lust For Life is sonically exquisite; a beautiful album that sees del Rey at her best, a refreshing blast of love, light and reality in the face of an age of confusion. With del Rey already alluding to her fifth album, here is hoping we won’t be waiting too long.
