[rayword45]

Day 24: Born To Die by Lana Del Rey (Album Choice: Trevor P.)

After reviewing several rock/metal albums with a dash of electronica and hip-hop here and there, I think I'm long overdue for a pop album. The only truly pop album I've reviewed thus far is Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys, but

A. Some still consider that rock
B. I kinda half-assed that one.

So now we enter Lana Del Rey. This is a white girl that calls herself a "Lolita in the hood"... Okay, red flag right there. Her album charted at 2 on the Billboard 100 but I haven't heard a single song from this album, because her singles TANKED on the charts. The critical reception? Incredibly mixed! Ranging
from bottom-of-the-barrel scores (like a 0/100 on one review according to Metacritic, and it wasn't Pitchfork!) to accolades like "2nd best album of 2012". On the plus side, her sound is likened to indie pop. I like indie pop, I for one can't get enough of Neutral Milk Hotel or New Pornographers. It's also likened to alternative hip-hop, and I'm not sure how that'll mesh. Note: When you're called a "Lolita in the hood" that's not deserving of a prediction.

Also, this charted on US Billboard Rock Albums. So maybe this isn't purely pop. Who cares?

I can vaguely see why this didn't get too much radio play. This girl lacks the autotuned bubblegummy high pitched squawking of most radio stars (except Adele). This is a low voice, and yes that is rare (or I'm ignorant to radio more than I thought.) At first, I thought she just had a nasal voice, then I realized "that's not her normal range", just like Ian Curtis. Her normal range is basically a soprano! Well, actually I don't know which voice is her normal range. But both I can nitpick.

Low = Nasal finish
High = Squeaks

This is nitpicking though. And when you consider how utterly untalented most singers with lots of top 40 hits are (Katy Perry, Ke$ha and T-Pain when those last 2 were relevant) I can't even criticize her voice that much. Truthfully, it's not bad in the least compared to most trashy pop songs. I can criticize the songwriting though. Like many, many pop albums before it, these first few songs seem to be made up of the same lyrical content of "I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU Oh here are some lunchmetaphors because I'm witty" with a dash of lamenting her (former) alcohol problems. There's also a bit of the so-called "gangsta Nancy Sinatra" which consists of her apparently sucky life of sex, cash, jewelry and drugs. Both are utterly dull, tired subjects, and the way the subjects are portrayed in the lyrics are almost Victorian in how outdated they sound, if Victorian means "before women's rights" (which is strange, considering most radio pop songs are a step away). National Anthem is a bit different, those fireworks remind me of Celebration Rock but this isn't anything close to Japandroids and holy crap this girl should not rap. Revised list.

Low = Nasal finish
Middle = A bit on the dull side at times
High = Doesn't squeak nearly as much as I thought. Better than I thought!
Rapping = What is this $@%&#!?

Luckily, the rapping seems to be limited to a couple of tracks at most. Other then that the hip-hop bit is limited to drumbeats. The Indie pop bit on the other hand is either nowhere or everywhere. It reminds me of absolutely no indie pop albums I've heard, but that's not many at all and pop is as vague a term as "rock". Or "electronic". Or nowadays "post-hardcore". Plus, all the Indie pop bands I listen to are quite different from each other. If indie pop can be anything pop, this is the purest pop album I've listened to thus far. I don't understand how this qualified as a rock album, there is no rock sensibility to be found. Did I mention the production? A lot of people seem to find fault in the "melodramatic production" but I thought it fit the album just fine, it didn't sound cluttered or tinny or anything. My main gripe is IT TOOK 8 PEOPLE TO PRODUCE THIS ALBUM!? Those guys must be a bunch of untalented f__ks to have it sound like this with 8 people in the recording room (and I don't care if it was singular sessions. When you have that many producers your album better sound near flawless production-wise).

So overall, this was not nearly as offensive as some reviews said. It's superior to most of the pop that got heavy radio play in 2012, and that's as much of an accomplishment as getting a score higher then a 3% on a multiple-choice test. But there is no way you can say this is the second best of 2012. Celebration Rock, I Bet On Sky, Transcendental Youth and that's 3 superior 2012 albums, 2 off the top of my head (hey, John Darnielle records pretty prolifically). I'd give this a below average rating solely for the caucasian hood bits, but truthfully her voice is actually quite good, I said I was nitpicking for a reason. Her lyrics are extremely outdated/sophomoric though, to the point where you'd think this album was remastered from wax cylinder. So give that a rating of "average pop album". I think I'm going to listen to Mass Romantic now, to see if I find the indie pop sound in this album.