Album Review: Lana Del Rey-Lust for Life

It's official: America is finally great again. After a 5-year hiatus, the Red, White and Blue's finest melancholy songstress (aka Lana Del Rey) has made a glorious, long-awaited return to the world of trip hop on her fifth LP Lust for Life. Hearing Del Rey sing over low-key, trap-influenced production again was the musical equivalent of LeBron James coming back to win a championship for his hometown after winning a couple of titles elsewhere. As great as it was to see her branch out into the world of stripped-down blues on 2014's Ultraviolence and Billie Holiday-inspired lounge music on 2015's Honeymoon, the understated hip-hop beats help give the bulk of the songs on Lust for Life the subtle build-ups and giant hooks that were largely missing from her past two albums. The world is a better place with trip hop Lana Del Rey in it and I'm absolutely fucking elated that she decided to venture back to her roots on this album.

Outside of the initial joy/shock that I felt towards her sudden re-commitment to the sound she perfected on her breakout 2012 album Born to Die and the flashes of optimism that are present in some of the lyrics, Lust for Life is just business as usual for Del Rey. For better or worse, this record is another collection of somber, pain-soaked anthems from a powerful singer that has successfully brought old-school crooning into the modern era. Her reliance on the same lyrical topics (lost love, broken dreams, 50's and 60's American icons, etc.) and overwhelmingly melancholy compositions  would've probably already gotten stale in the hands of a lesser artist, but Del Rey's consistently strong vocal performances and gift for establishing haunting, immersive atmospheres on every record she's put out to-date has allowed to become one of the most consistently impressive artists in the modern music landscape. While it certainly won't win over any of her many passionate detractors, Lust for Life is pure bliss for anyone that's on-board with the nostalgia-obsessed musings from pop's queen of sadness.    

4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Heroin
2.13 Beaches
3.Get Free