Elizabeth Grant, now better known as Lana Del Rey, aka the ‘Gangster Nancy Sinatra’, or as one of the more prominent faces in the ‘New Boring’ movement that threatens to dominate the charts for a considerable period of time, now releases her debut album, if you ignore the one released under her real name, Born to Die just a few short months after “Video Games” launched her into the limelight via YouTube. Even before the album was released, the backlash against Del Rey had begun and with dismal live performances on US television and doubts raised over her authenticity as an artist, so the question that must be asked is, is this album good enough to silence her critics? The short answer is no.
There appears to have been a conscious effort to focus on creating a general atmosphere rather than individual and interesting tracks. Starting with title track “Born to Die” it becomes evident that Del Rey is relying on one sound, slow low voiced vocals over melodramatically produced instrumentals that have a strong trip-hop influence and a slight tinge of Twin Peaks. For one track it is acceptable but as the album continues, this rapidly becomes repetitive and irritating; the lyrics could be interchanged between songs without a noticeable difference.
Amidst the dirge of monotony it is the track that launched her career, “Video Games”, that shines through. The sublime Sinatra-esque vocals flow without being overshadowed by the production values that taint the rest of the album. It remains the brilliant track that actually made people pay attention to Del Rey. However it appears that this is the key reason for the album’s overall blandness; instead of attempts at innovation Del Rey and her team have just tried to recreate this formula without any regard for the quality of the end result; tracks like “Dark Paradise” can only be separated from “Video Games” by virtue of different lyrics and a slightly more anthemic chorus.
The monotony is not the only reason to dislike Born to Die, it is track “Radio” that will truly earn the ire of the existing dissenters. One of the most woefully mistimed tracks of recent years with lyrics that assert “no one even knows how hard life was” for Del Rey. Whilst it appears that they are meant to be a defence against the considerable criticism regarding her rapid ascent, they simply become laughable as the stories of her father’s wealth are evoked when listening to it. It is a failure on her part to think that her wide fan base can fathom the difficulties of growing up rich. However, far more odious is the arrogance that permeates the chorus; the success she revels in is undeserved for such a “new” artist and it just seems churlish to be so blatant about it.
Whilst it would be easy to lambast Del Rey, the fact remains her music is too boring to truly summon any particularly harsh criticism. Born to Die is easy-listening for the internet age, at its best, and apart from “Video Games” there is nothing to suggest that her commercial success has been merited. Whilst it is inevitable that Del Rey’s career will continue its ascension, if she continues to simply recycle one successful song, interest in her will rapidly wain. But she’d probably return. Under yet another name.
