Music Review: Lana Del Rey - Honeymoon

Reviewing Lana Del Rey albums has become standard practice on this blog due to the fact that she's just about the only mainstream artist in the charts that's still producing original albums that stand out from the crowd. I last reviewed her previous album 'Ultraviolence', which I personally found lackluster, although I keep hearing from people on the internet that it was the best thing to ever happen to music. Okay maybe the praise wasn't that high, but there's no denying that Lana holds a very high popularity despite not being the most conventional artist on the scene, and so it's only fair that I find out what all the fuss is about. If this new album, 'Honeymoon', really is as good as people are making it out to be then it has a good chance of scoring highly on my rating system, and being as she's the only modern pop artist with even a hope of making it to those levels I thought I would give her another chance. After all, I do actually quite like her personality. She's a desirable character despite being so miserable, although I would never want to take her out to the pub.

'Honeymoon' is an album that Lana describes as being similar to her first two albums, which I'm sure means something to her fans, but I couldn't be bothered to review those albums, so this will be a new experience for me. On the surface the album doesn't sound particularly exciting; Lana is once again teaming up with producers Rick Nowles and Kieron Menzies, and the previews she's given have suggested that the content will be as grim and depressing as usual. Interestingly some of the recordings took place at the Electric Lady Studios in New York, which is famous in my mind, as it's where Jimi Hendrix recorded 'Electric Ladyland'; one of the greatest albums of all time. Not only did that album have some fucking awesome music on it, but it also had naked women on the front cover. I doubt we'll be getting the latter on this album, but as this studio has a rich history in good music we could be getting some of that instead; although I get the feeling just by looking at the cover that the album isn't going to be the most exciting thing I've ever had the pleasure of listening to.

As for the album, well there isn't anything new to analyse thanks to a conservative performance to say the least. The album still suffers from the same 'Lana drawbacks' that have prevented me from enjoying her previous work, and I do believe this stems from a simple lack of passion. A truly good album would have the artist at the creative core, but here we have Lana only co-writing the songs on her own album. If I had the luxury of having my own name on the front of an album cover then I would at least bother to make sure it was my material included, and not just collaborating with other faces that make it look like the album exists solely for money. I've never felt the need to demote Lana to the status of only a performer, but with this album I get the sense that there really isn't any artistic integrity on display, and it's actually just a singer trying to pay the bills for her hedonistic lifestyle, all whilst appeasing her fans constant demands. The result is an album that feels less powerful, less gritty, more generic than 'Ultraviolence'. The actual content is really well produced and performed as you would expect, but at the end of the day it's indistinguishable from her previous work. It's still like listening to a musical rendition of a suicidal teenage girl's diary, and that just leads to mediocre results.

The mediocrity is made worse by the fact that this album goes on for over sixty minutes, which when listening all the way through is a painful process. Maybe the lengthy time would be acceptable if the album was exciting or easy to listen to, but it just isn't. I like art that runs at a slow and methodical pace, but once you get past those first few songs the album becomes too samey, too gloomy. The first few songs on the album, 'Honeymoon', 'Music to Watch Boys to', and 'Terrence Loves You' are all fine examples of well written and produced songs that Lana is capable of when it sounds like she can actually be bothered. This opening section is great to listen to and certainly creates an almost psychedelic atmosphere before Lana's songs end up drifting into the tired old cliches that plagued her previous hits.

Another issue I found with the album is the constant namedropping and the cover song that concludes the album. The most interesting example is the use of David Bowie's lyrics in 'Terrence Loves You'. I thought the actual song was decent to listen to and so why it needed to reference an artist exploring themes that aren't even remotely related to the song in question is completely unnecessary in my opinion. Maybe that's just my personal taste, but unless Lana Del Rey is going to transform herself into a Ziggy Stardust type of character then I'm honestly just not interested; it feels like she's blatantly referencing other work to broaden her own audience whilst adding nothing to her own work. Perhaps I wouldn't be complaining if there was a rapid transition in the album, but 'Honeymoon' just ends up feeling like a slow paced film that never bothers to develop into anything significant. The fact that the conclusion of the album is a cover of a well known song is just further proof that Lana is only treading on ground that many others have been on before.

However the worst thing about the album by a mile is how disorganised it all feels. Nothing feels like it has a purpose, like it's just a random collection of songs collated in a meaningless fashion. The album is just one similar song after another, with even an interlude in the middle for god knows what reason. I would expect an interlude on a concept album, but on 'Honeymoon' it's like Lana is a fat kid at the buffet filing their plate with as much as they can despite being far more than they can ever manage. The interlude sums up the album by feeling like just an afterthought; it has no artistic merit, and just sits there to kill some time. That's the same issue with the latter stages of the album that only seem to serve in emphasising the vivid soundtrack. I do like the atmosphere the production created, but when it's repetitively contrasted with this dreary and monotone droning from Lana the products are underwhelming to say the least. You have to ask yourself what this latter portion is doing on the album, and all the clues point at Lana simply wanting to appease her fans with the same old tired formula that's become far too routine for people with more sophisticated tastes. I understand that not every song on the album is going to be a masterpiece, but I at least expect something that feels special.

The problem is that I can't work out if this nonchalant attitude is on purpose. The lack of passion is far more noticeable than in any of her previous work, and although I wasn't a huge fan of her previous albums, I still preferred the time when Lana would do something other than spurt out vague observations. Here Lana sounds like an ageing dog repetitively groaning and mumbling to be finally put out of its misery. For the first time a Lana Del Rey album seems to lack any character or drama, and whether that is purposeful is debatable, but it certainly alienates a man like me who gets tired of the same rinse and repeat formula whilst still not addressing the issues that brought down your previous work. In short 'Honeymoon' has brief glimpses of unique musical talent followed up with 45 minutes of generic and dull material. I guess you could say the album is rather like a honeymoon in that it begins with really exciting concepts and a lot of promise, only to be followed by what seem years of events that whittle away into nothing. I'm sorry Lana, we've heard it all before.


Final Score: 5/10   **1/2