Lana Del Rey's 'Honeymoon' Review

The croony Queen of alternative music, Lana Del Rey, is back with
another artistically indy album titled Honeymoon. Released this
past Friday, Del Rey’s voice calls to the listeners through a
dream-like haze of sounds and vocals. Similar to her previous album
Ultraviolence, this album’s sound is all together very slow and
“chill.” This slower sound came as a bit of a surprise since Del Rey
had promised fans that the new album would be more similar to her
first breakout album in 2012, Born To Die which featured more
upbeat sounds and vocals.

Although the new album is a slow listen, the angelic melody of Del Rey’s vocals captivates and seduces the listener to enter Del Rey’s
world of romance, drugs and vintage memories. Songs on her album such
as “Art Deco,” focus on past times and one really feels like they are
in the style of that time period.
Even more surprising on this album is the heavy focus on religion.
Compared to past songs that Del Rey has sung such as “Gods and
Monsters” which is basically about fallen angels and rejecting the
ideals of a God, Honeymoon features two songs that are very
God-centered. The fourth song on the album, “God Knows I Tried,” is
all about life and death and the trials that life brings. Del Rey
constantly repeats the phrase “God knows I try” throughout the song
and the whole track seems very much like a confession. In the ninth
track of the album, “Religion,” she intertwines the aspects of love
and religion together to form a anthem for needing love as one would
need religion to survive.
The breakout songs of the album would have to be “Salvatore” which has
received a lot of praise from fans already. Perhaps because this track
is a bit different sounding from all of the other slower songs.
“Salvatore” sounds as if you are watching a seductive tango dance in a
European country. Del Rey croons in English and sometimes a perfect
Italian dialect. Salvatore means savior in Italian, so perhaps this
song is another nod to religion again; she repeats the phrase ciao
amore throughout the song as well, bringing in that tie with love and
religion again.
Another popular song of the album is “High By The Beach” which was
released earlier last month before the actual album came out. Already,
the music video on Youtube has reached over 22 million views since it
was released a month ago. The song has a significant California vibe
to it as many of Del Rey’s songs do. In her last album
Ultraviolence she had a whole dedicated song to California in
“West Coast” and in this album she has another song titled “Freak,”
which talks about coming to California and letting go of all worries
and being yourself in in the Golden State.

The most interesting aspect of the album would have to be track eight
called, “Burnt Norton-Interlude.” Not a song, but more of a
philosophizing of time, reality and speculation. Some would say it
could be one of Del Rey’s alternative, drug-induced moments but some
could also say it is the deep meaning of her album and who she truly
is as an artist and person.
Fans of Del Rey and the album will also be happy to know of a hidden
secret for the release. On the front cover of the album (easily
visible on the collector’s red vinyl edition) is a phone number on the
side of the tour bus Del Rey is leaning on. Call that phone number
(1-800-268-7886) and you are taken to a “Honeymoon” hotline where you
can chose to listen to a variety of options such as listening to her
songs “High By The Beach” and “Freak” or listen to one of Del Rey’s
favorite philosophy lectures on the beginning of the universe or even
chose to listen to a TED talk by one of her “favorites” Elon Musk.
Some lucky fans were even < a href=http://pitchfork.com/news/61340-lana-del-rey-answering-hotline-from-honeymoon-album-art/>surprised
when they got to speak to Del Rey who answered some of the calls
coming into the hotline after she posted a picture on Instagram that
said “Call me. I’m home alone x.”
Honeymoon is a captivating 14 track album that showcases who
Del Rey really is as an artist, and her work is truly beautiful,
however if fans want an upbeat album similar to the masterpiece
Born To Die, they will have to wait and see what her future
albums hold because this album is certainly not that.