After the release of her first major studio album, Born to Die, Lana Del Rey told reporters that she didn’t plan on writing another album. Thankfully, she rethought her decision and released Ultraviolence on June 13, 2014. She promoted her album with the release of five singles including: “West Coast”, “Brooklyn Baby”, “Shade of Cool”, “Black Beauty” and “Ultraviolence”. The singles were well-received and successfully built-up hype for the album. After the release, Ultraviolence became a global success and debuted at number 1 on the charts around the world. The album contains 14 songs and runs for a little over an hour. Did Lana Del Rey release another excellent album following Born To Die?
Absolutely
Introduction
Ultraviolence had begun its planning stage in 2013, proving Lana could create yet another masterpiece. Once completed, the album took many changes by her label, Interscope Records. Ultraviolence is a pop album that has major rock and jazz elements, featuring heavier guitar and drum-based elements than her previous album, Born to Die. All of these components pair well with Lana’s rich and soft tone of voice and create an aggressive, yet quiet album. Ultraviolence conveys themes of toxic and complex relationships, power, romance, manipulation, and money. Lana Del Rey has an absolute gift when it comes to creating a narrative for an album, and that is certainly on display here.
Production
After releasing Born To Die in 2012, Lana Del Rey told the media that she doesn’t plan on writing any more albums as a result of “already saying everything she wanted to”. However, in February 2013, Lana began writing the album with Dan Health, a British songwriter whom she worked with previously on Born To Die, and her then-boyfriend, Barrie-James O’Neill. Lana often talked about how she struggled to find her muse and inspiration with this album, but this is not seen at all come the final product.
In January 2014, Lana started recording in Nashville Tennesse at Dan Auerbach’s, an American musician, studio. Auerbach helped produce Ultraviolence along with Lana’s record, Interscope. The album houses a heavy guitar that pairs with a jazz tone that creates a dark feel to the album. The drums emphasize her sad tone and unique vocals, along with the bass and synthesizers that create a cinematic experience. All of these components are brilliantly combined to create a sad, yet energetic atmosphere that elevates the themes of the album.
Vocal Performance
Throughout the entirety of the album, Lana has strong and powerful vocals. She is able to control her voice from a hush, whisper-like tone in slow and calm parts of songs to wailing in louder more intense parts. Lana’s unique vocals pair well with the overall sound of the album and add another layer of depth to the music. Without her key vocals, the songs would sound empty and bare. She has a large range from high to low notes and has a sense of place in her music. In some parts of the album, she has a monotone tone that would often bore the listener but it only enhances the music. When Lana sings in Ultraviolence, her voice immerses the listener in her music and the meaning behind it.
Meaning
Lana Del Ray illustrates another story like she had done previously in Born to Die, and she uses many similar themes. Each song takes us through a different version of the themes. Songs like “Cruel World”, “Pretty When You Cry” and “Ultraviolence” take on journeys of toxic relationships. Lana or the persona she created for the album sings of loving her partner so much that anything he does must only be because he loves her. Lana later tells us in the songs “West Coast” and “Brooklyn Baby”, that she loves her partner, but she doesn’t know how to express her feelings and wants to focus on her own life and career.
She moves away from singing about relationships in the songs “Money Power Glory” and “Old Money”, conveying to the listener that she is tired of being told what to do and she wants to live her own life on her own terms. She wants her own freedom away from her fame and relationships. Lana concludes the album by singing about escaping her own life while still feeling that freedom is a fantasy.
Conclusion
Lana Del Rey is unmatched in album creation and creating an atmosphere around her music. From her impressive vocals to the staggering instruments and musical production, Lana creates an utterly outstanding environment in this album. She brings it all home with the meaning and themes behind the album. Lana deserves all the praise and achievement she was awarded for this album.
Song Rankings:
- “Pretty When You Cry”
- “West Coast”
- “Brooklyn Baby”
- “The Other Women”
- “Sad Girl”
- “Ultraviolence”
- “Shades Of Cool”
- “Cruel World”
- “Black Beauty”
- “F***ed My Way Up to the Top”
- “Money Power Glory”
- “Old Money”
- “Florida Kilos”
- “Guns And Roses”
Strongest Track ~ “Pretty When You Cry” is a sad, yet complex song. The song is about a girl who is in a toxic relationship and is so in love with her partner that she won’t get out of her awful situation. She believes that her partner is always putting her down and hurting her, because he thinks she is pretty when she cries. She allows him to do this because she doesn’t want to lose him. Lana’s vocals in this track convey so much emotion with a soft, yet powerful tone.
Weakest Track ~ “Guns and Roses” to me is lacking depth and definition, which I understand others might enjoy. Lana could have done something interesting with the song but it is overshadowed by the more complex and interesting songs on the album. It doesn’t wrap up the album well and a more upbeat song could have given Ultraviolence a better conclusion.
Final Notes
Song rankings are always subject to change over time, so don’t take these too to heart. They also are just our opinion. We would love to hear your opinions, so leave them in the comment section below. We also suggest subscribing to our blog. To do so, go under the tab “Contact” and fill out the form. That will allow you to receive emails of new blogs and maybe get them ahead of time. Finally, go give Ultraviolence a listen for yourself.