Hands down, Lana Del Rey has the best voice I’ve ever heard.
In my opinion, she is some sort of angel-human hybrid sent down from a badass heaven to bless us with her mythical, surreal voice.
Therefore, I was extremely excited when Lana released her new album “Honeymoon” on Friday, Sept. 18. I was going to wait a few weeks to get it until I could find it on the internet for free, but after seeing people on social media praising her even more than usual after it came out, I couldn’t wait and gave her the $12.99 she rightfully deserved.
Lana is a goddess and I basically worship her, but “Honeymoon” was not what I expected. Wikipedia classifies the album as “dream pop,” but I think it feels more like nightmare pop.
I’d be walking through campus on a beautiful, sunny day looking at the changing leaves and happy students — a perfect recipe for a good mood. But, while listening to “Honeymoon,” I would feel more like a depressed character in a dark film noir movie.
I’m not saying the album isn’t great or that my opinion on Lana has changed, because that’s not the case. “Honeymoon” is just drastically different than her previous work. I’d say a solid 10/14 songs are, for a lack of a better descriptor, just plain depressing. Lana’s music tends to be on the slower, thoughtful side, but she usually balances out her dark songs with a few upbeat ones.
Also, I couldn’t help feeling like Lana really relied on her voice to cover up some of the uncreative lyrics in this album. Many of the songs consist of the same sentences or phrases repeated over and over. All the songs still sound great, but Lana is the only artist I know who can make mundane lyrics come across as works of genius, and she really capitalized on that skill for “Honeymoon.”
Lana is still amazing in my eyes and the best artist I’ve ever heard, but I would only recommend “Honeymoon” if you want something to sing loudly to, need a good cry or want your mood to be drastically brought down.
For those who do listen to it, though, I recommend “Freak,” “Art Deco,” “Salvatore,” “High by the Beach” and “The Blackest Day.”