{"id":7253,"date":"2014-07-08T09:01:35","date_gmt":"2014-07-08T13:01:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/home\/?p=7253"},"modified":"2014-07-24T09:42:18","modified_gmt":"2014-07-24T13:42:18","slug":"a-rey-of-black-sunshine-lana-del-reys-ultraviolence-sends-us-on-a-dark-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/a-rey-of-black-sunshine-lana-del-reys-ultraviolence-sends-us-on-a-dark-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"A \u2018Rey\u2019 of Black Sunshine- Lana Del Rey\u2019s Ultraviolence sends us on a dark journey"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Ultraviolence\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Lana Del Rey stares moodily out of the cover of her latest album, Ultraviolence, similar to The Ramones\u2019 classic Rocket to Russia album art. The cover and the album as a whole represent a throwback to vintage rock n\u2019 roll; Del Rey traditionally romanticizes and mystifies old styles but the new, more vibrant direction was probably created by album producer and contributor Dan Auerbach<\/a>\u00a0of The Black Keys. The two make an impeccable pair, mixing Del Rey\u2019s sugary party-girl persona with Auerbach\u2019s alternative, edgy musical background, but Del Rey\u2019s usual talent is by no means obscured by his presence. She\u2019s a little more distant, a little less enthusiastic, and a little more disillusioned with the world than on previous albums, creating an experience that isn\u2019t just sad, but beautifully poignant.<\/p>\n

Opening track \u201cCruel World\u201d details Del Rey\u2019s reaction to a break-up, hinting at parties and drinking. The psych rock influences and trippy echoing voices sweep listeners into her heady world of sadness and freedom; a perfect introduction to the album and to what Lana Del Rey is all about.<\/p>\n

Title track, \u201cUltraviolence,\u201d shows Del Rey\u2019s affinity for morbidity, as well as her fantastically Wonderland-ish ability to sensualize it. The singer revealed in two separate interviews that the song is a direct reference<\/a> to her time spent as the member of an underground cult in NYC.<\/p>\n

\u201cShades of Cool\u201d gives listeners a delicious taste of Del Rey\u2019s serious vocal talent as she begins the song uninhibited by too much background noise. The singer feels equally awed and frustrated with her lover\u2019s aloof manner, producing a great deal of turmoil in the sound and atmosphere. Fans should check out this cover<\/a> of The Beatles\u2019 \u201cHelter Skelter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBrooklyn Baby\u201d was supposedly written in preparation for a collaboration with Lou Reed, and he even gets a mention in the lyrics, but Reed passed away before he could contribute. Pop influences are more apparent here than in most of Del Rey\u2019s other material, particularly in the amiable guitar that produces much of the melody. Paying homage to her own life growing up in New York City and \u201cthe freedom land of the seventies,\u201d this track holds personal significance to the artist, and it certainly shows in her emotional treatment of it.<\/p>\n

Previously released \u201cWest Coast\u201d comes out swinging with a more traditional, predictable melody, but a wildly revitalized rhythmic structure. Driven by her breathy voice, listeners get a true sense of the exhilaration of love and freedom that naturally thrive in warm summer nights along the Cali coast.<\/p>\n

The content takes an explicit turn in \u201cSad Girl,\u201d which outlines the emotional struggles of a mistress who feels like her man\u2019s second choice. Perhaps more figuratively than literally, Del Rey speaks for many who feel unworthy or unloved, a theme that gives the album depth and makes this track a wonderful addition.<\/p>\n

Another track with a hidden message, \u201cPretty When You Cry\u201d is about accepting and loving yourself when friends and lovers leave you out in the cold. Stringent guitar riffs add a bitter edge that give depth to the slowly rolling melody. \u201cPretty\u201d is an album standout for its palpable emotional value and experimental sound.<\/p>\n

Del Rey\u2019s 2012 album Born to Die is resurrected in \u201cMoney Power Glory\u201d with a muted beat and husky vocals. Indeed, the song is driven by her sensual, angelic voice and a guitar solo that is not, surprisingly, played by Dan Auerbach, although there\u2019s no doubt it was influenced by his old-timey rock n\u2019 roll style.<\/p>\n

\u201cF**ked My Way Up to the Top\u201d was written angrily and sarcastically, as Del Rey opens the song murmuring apathetically, \u201cLife is awesome, I confess.\u201d The song supposedly refers to another female recording artist who criticized Del Rey\u2019s material, only to use the very same components in music of her own after passing judgment; indeed Del Rey makes no attempt to hide the situation or her feelings surrounding it: \u201cI am a dragon, you\u2019re a whore\u2026mimicking me is a f**king bore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Del Rey croons sentimentally about \u201cblue hydrangea, cold cash divine\/ cashmere, cologne, and white sunshine\u201d in standout track \u201cOld Money.\u201d Such heavenly imagery, coupled with her rich, honey-like voice, sets a beautifully tragic tone for the piece; as a die-hard fan, the delicate string instruments and unrelenting, throaty vocals brought a tear to my eye.\u00a0 The wild-and-free party girl fa\u00e7ade is long gone; Del Rey slows down in this track and reveals how vulnerable a young woman can be in the face of love.<\/p>\n

Del Rey embodies the sexy spirit of Marilyn Monroe singing \u201cThe Other Woman,\u201d a perfect blending of Del Rey\u2019s own dark, trembling vocals and Auerbach\u2019s affinity for blues-influenced instrumentals. The narrative lies in the rising and falling of the melody itself, not just the lyrics, ending the song with a catharsis that speaks to the soul and the mind.<\/p>\n

The synthesized static buzzing underneath the instrumentals of \u201cBlack Beauty\u201d lends the track an apocalyptic atmosphere that fits Del Rey\u2019s devil-may-care attitude and her obvious ideas about love. Another track about the type of guy she adores, \u201cBlack Beauty\u201d calms the album\u2019s atmosphere with its lilting soprano vocals and soft instrumentation.<\/p>\n

\u201cGuns and Roses\u201d flows like lava: slow and sexy. Joint efforts from synthesizer and electric guitar are just one of a few homages to 1980s-era fluff rock in this track; another glares obviously from the line \u201cI can feel it coming in the air tonight.\u201d Listeners can float away on the background vocals and aloof guitar solos, only to resurface with the final, echoing drumbeats.<\/p>\n

\u201cFlorida Kilos\u201d starts off sounding more like the Red Hot Chili Peppers than anything Del Rey has shown us before, the plucky acoustics creating a reggae sound. Sweeter and more upbeat than the rest of the album, the singer\u2019s baby doll voice and references to cocaine make this track prime material for an EDM remix. Listeners will leave the album with a feeling of artificial buoyancy and a new appreciation for the enigma that is Lana Del Rey.<\/p>\n

Overall, Ultraviolence isn\u2019t as exciting as her 2012 albums Born to Die and Paradise, but perhaps represents a maturation in her style of expression. With a muted sound and depressed eloquence, Del Rey creates a psychedelic fusion of rock and roll through the ages, bringing darkness to life in the process.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Candace Carter is an associate editor with Gadfly Online and really loves her job. She just finished her first year at the University of Virginia writing for the Cavalier Daily and supporting the mentally ill in UVA’s chapter of To Write Love on Her Arms. She’s a very strict cat person; a novel she recommends is The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lana Del Rey stares moodily out of the cover of her latest album, Ultraviolence, similar to The Ramones\u2019 classic Rocket to Russia album art. The cover and the album as a whole represent a throwback to vintage rock n\u2019 roll; Del Rey traditionally romanticizes and mystifies old styles but the new, more vibrant direction was probably created by album producer and contributor Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. The two make an impeccable pair, mixing Del Rey\u2019s sugary party-girl persona with Auerbach\u2019s alternative, edgy musical background, but Del Rey\u2019s usual talent is by no means obscured by his presence. She\u2019s a little more distant, a little less enthusiastic, and a little more disillusioned with the world than on previous albums, creating an experience that isn\u2019t just sad, but beautifully poignant.<\/p>\n

READ MORE.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":205,"featured_media":7346,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[221,4,220],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7253"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/205"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7253"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7253\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7347,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7253\/revisions\/7347"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}