Throughout the last decade, Lana Del Rey has been producing notable hits such as “Summertime Sadness,” “Young And Beautiful,” and even her most popular title track… “Born to Die.” She uses her music to connect with her fans, and became relatable to most listeners. On March 24 of this year, her new release of Did You Know There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd shows a new era of gospel and purity. Follow Michaela and I on this journey as we review our top three hits on this album.

1. “Candy Necklaces”

To start off with this album review, Lana Del Rey hits us with this beautiful piano piece with sort of a mystical/heavy tone on the very first track. Lana conveys her love for a man who lives a “reckless” and “restless” lifestyle. To contradict with the calm piano melody in the beginning, it seamlessly goes into waves of disorder and chaos, picking up the pace of the piano playing. This correlates with Lana’s relationship with this man, portrayed by John Batiste. To touch on John Batiste’s feature, he appears at the end of the track with a spine-chilling tone. It is evident Lana loses her sanity as she can’t get enough of this man and is obsessed with his high or “Candy Necklaces.”

2. “Paris, Texas”

To continue our analysis of this album, this track starts with sweet piano beginnings and minimal overlapping with the light orchestra, giving Coraline. Lana begins to describe her trip to “Paris, Texas” “with a suitcase in [her] hand.” After briefly sharing her trip to us she explains how she had to leave. She utilizes this as an example of not feeling accepted and having to leave others. We follow Lana on a series of trips during this song visiting friends to eventually leaving. Towards the end of this track she explains her isolation towards others in terms of something light-hearted, such as being on a dance floor. She eventually compromises to go home to her hometown: Venice, California. She tries to escape her home town for new beginnings, but when she leaves her roots, she finds herself not fitting in anywhere else and ends up returning back to her origins. Wherever she goes, she struggles to find happiness and comfort.

3. “Let The Light In”

To save the best for last, we can describe this track as lighthearted while having a soft acoustic melody. To mention, this track portrays two characters, Lana Del Rey and a male love interest who share a friendly and non-toxic relationship (unlike SZA). This relationship sprouts out of boredom and the yearning to be free. We pick up on how Lana perceives this relationship as boundless. Our favorite lines from this enchanting song include “Love to love you” and “Hate to hate you,” because it relates to most delusional listeners in terms of crushes or partners. The chorus repeats,“Look at us, you and I back at it again” sharing how this relationship is endless and mutually loving from both Lana and this love interest. 

Conclusion

What a great album all together. Throughout multiple tracks it is clear Lana conveys messages based on finding religion and purity while still expressing her older eras. Some honorable mentions include “Sweet” (Vocal range) and “Margret” (it’s collaboration with the Bleachers!). We find most of the songs in this album incorporating a heavier meaning to often relate to the listeners when mentioning internal struggles, even including suicide. Overall, we rate this album a 7.4 out of 10. This album to our ears is not considered a 10 because of its format that does not contain a linear storyline. She also included some electronic beats which are not a fan favorite in our opinions. I would suggest this album to Lana’s older listeners because of the references to her past albums such as NFR and Ultraviolence. For new Lana listeners, I would start off with the basics such as Born to Die, and gradually move up to this beloved album. 

See you guys next year!- Leana+Micheala