On Mar. 24, Lana Del Rey released her newest album “Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd,” and to say the least, I was surprised. I was very excited about this new album because I hadn’t listened to her previous two albums, mostly since neither of them were very successful. However, I think it’s safe to say that DYKTTATUOB is doing pretty well already, ranking the #1 album on Apple Music in more than 40 countries.
Listening to this album for the first time was a task. Its 16 songs pan out to an hour and 18 minutes, though that also includes two interludes that total about 8 minutes. Out of the 16 songs, 4 of them really stuck out to me: “A&W,” “Paris, Texas,” “Peppers,” and “Taco Truck x VB.”
Del Rey released “A&W” on Feb. 14, and it was her second single she released before the full album came out. Lasting for more than 7 minutes, the first 5 minutes are very slow, then it suddenly takes a turn and goes into a hip-hop/pop song, covering Little Anthony & The Imperials’ “Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko Ko Bop” from 1960. Del Rey changes the lyrics but keeps the same sound, and to say it’s phenomenal is an understatement. This was clearly the right marketing move on Del Rey’s part because people fell in love with “A&W,” fueling the excitement for the rest of the album.
The next song is “Paris, Texas,” which features SYML and the instrumentals to his song “I Wanted to Leave.” Del Rey sampled it and then added lyrics over it, and it’s such a beautiful song while still emulating her always-present sense of sadness.
Everyone can agree that the song has the aesthetic of the 2009 movie adaptation of “Coraline” and 2005 “Corpse Bride” because of the instrumentals and just the overall vibe of the song. Del Rey speaks about going to places like Paris, Texas, Florence, Alabama, and California’s Venice, and about the feeling of traveling and knowing yourself better than others can. I can easily imagine this song being my go-to when it’s a rainy day.
“Peppers” takes a complete turn in the album. Featuring Tommy Genesis, “Peppers” takes on another rap/hip-hop vibe and has already been adopted as the real show-stopper throughout DYKTTATUOB, which makes sense because it can be enjoyed by people who listen to all kinds of musical genres. It still keeps that Lana charm with her typical lyrics of “throwing caution to the wind,” but again adds the different perspective of Genesis joining in that no one was expecting from Del Rey.
Last but certainly not least, my favorite song on the album by far is “Taco Truck x VB.” Now, I know, this song sounds really weird because of the title, and at the beginning I was also suspicious of it. But as per usual, Del Rey has a way with words, and the lyrics are beautiful. The part that really makes this song so great is the last three minutes, where Del Rey blows fans’ minds by switching into yet another hip-hop style, but this time one of her older songs, “Venice B[—-].”
To me, this song was like discovering the multiverse; it was like two completely different universes coming together into one show-stopping song. Which it sort of is, seeing as they are from two different eras of Lana Del Rey. To say that this song is show-stopping is underplaying it by far. Del Rey knows her fans too well by ending the album with this song, leaving us with the lyrics, “Soundin’ off, bang bang, kiss kiss.”
Overall, I personally love Lana Del Rey’s new album and would rate it a 4/5 spartan heads because the songs that shine really shine through. The songs that aren’t as good aren’t bad, but they simply don’t match up to the several great ones. Even if you aren’t an avid listener of Del Rey, you should definitely give her a try with “Peppers” and go on from there. I can guarantee that you will love it.