4/04/2012

"Born to Die" by Lana del Rey (2012)

Lana del Rey's voice in this album has depth, colour, texture, darkness, lyricism, playfulness and naughtiness. The sound of the album is dark and sultry at the same time and will remind Tori Amos' fans of Amos' unmistakable wonderful sound and voice. Lolita!

The album has a mix of musical influences, from soft rap to old Spanish/Hispanic tunes, from independent songstresses of the 90s to tunes of the 1970s, all well blended together. It is very retro-modern, so to speak.

It is an album in which the lyrics of the songs are the main focus, so you cannot consume it in a hurry, despite the music being quite upbeat and enjoyable per se. The main virtue of the lyrics is how cinematic they are, little mini-stories in themselves with great characters, which you can visualise in your head as if they were a mini-movie. My fav songs are Video games, Summertime sadness, Carmen and Lolita, but I love most of them.

I have enjoyed the album a lot. However, in a way, there is a disconnection between the emotions of the songstress and the characters she tries to bring to life, if you know what I mean.