Lana Del Rey
Honeymoon (Interscope)
If Lana Del Rey's previous three studio albums were liquid sunshine, Honeymoon is a Santa Monica sunset: golden, exquisite, and laced with unexpected melodic colours that refract off the clouds as it goes down.
Standouts like "Music To Watch Boys To" and "God Knows I Tried" show the depths of Del Rey’s throaty, Hollywood-starlet vocals over the album's sombre 65-minute descent; and while Del Rey's lyrics have always been trite, the incisive realization in "The Blackest Day" cuts through the romance-at-rock-bottom torch songs of the rest, while "Religion" draws apt parallels between love and salvation. Meanwhile, on the more shareable "High By The Beach" and "Art Deco" she's numb to it all – haunted beyond her years and crafting pop for a generation that also finds itself wondering, "You want more / why?".
Like many a sunset, though, the beauty is at times too familiar and easily relegated to the background – a blaze of glorious, Gothic sadness on a rather predictable thematic trajectory. Del Rey lovers, with their bags packed, are ready to go on her big trip, but Del Rey herself, perched expectantly on the album cover in a Hollywood tourmobile, implies that Honeymoon is more of a staycation. As result, you'll see a lot of beautiful things, but don't expect to really go anywhere.
Rating: 3.5/5
