“I’m a special type of girl,” Lana Del Rey states plainly on “Candy,” including a number of seconds later, “Should you wanna go the place no person is aware of, that’s the place you’ll discover me.” The singer-songwriter has spent her profession proving the previous assertion — taking a personalised strategy to pop craft, endlessly valuing honesty and innovation — however Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Below Ocean Blvd, her mammoth and sometimes luminous ninth full-length, certainly exists at an entirely distinctive intersection in fashionable music, because the artist’s most singular assertion so far.
Del Rey’s voice has all the time been unmistakable, however no different artist may have come near showcasing this 77-minute set of concepts, generally mysterious and infrequently shambolic, however all the time thrilling and brimming with integrity. The adventurous spirit of this album flirts with a gleeful recklessness: Del Rey has explored her ideas on intercourse, devotion, household and American decay previously, however by no means with so many surprising visitors, songs mashed into one another and stressed detours. In an period of the music trade that rewards TikTok-ready hooks, Del Rey has sprinted in the wrong way: the songs right here proudly stretch out, dismissing verse-chorus constructions in order that Del Rey can journey throughout one other bridge or three.
But Del Rey’s pen holds Ocean Blvd collectively. Writing primarily with Jack Antonoff, Mike Hermosa and Drew Erickson, Del Rey conjures pictures that proceed to hang-out her and presents lyrics that jangle across the listener’s mind. From the boarded-up previous of the title monitor to the post-grief ahead movement of “Kintsugi” to the giddy friendship of “Margaret,” Del Rey roams throughout matters and deftly handles all of them. For an album that clearly challenges its creator, Ocean Blvd as soon as once more concludes that Del Rey is completely different, in one of the simplest ways attainable.
Whereas all of Lana Del Rey’s new album is price digging into, we have already got some early favorites after a number of listens. Right here is our preliminary monitor rankings for Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Below Ocean Blvd:
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“Judah Smith Interlude”
Inserting a fiery, four-and-a-half minute spoken-word interlude from megachurch pastor Judah Smith in a main spot on the album monitor listing is actually an audacious alternative from Del Rey — and whereas the sermon grazes the central themes of the songs round it, the interlude is an opportunity taken that doesn’t work inside the presentation of the album.
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“Jon Batiste Interlude”
“Jon Batiste Interlude,” which arrives proper after the We Are album of the 12 months Grammy winner’s harmonizing on the finish of “Sweet Necklace,” features as a playful extension of that monitor, with Batiste whooping it up after which crooning with Del Rey because the piano twinkling comes into focus. The interlude creates a voyeuristic ambiance — you’re feeling the 2 artists’ bond within the studio — however doesn’t provide a lot as a standalone monitor.
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“Taco Truck x VB”
The “VB” within the title stands for “Venice Bitch,” and as an alternative of merely nodding to considered one of her most iconic songs, Del Rey totally revisits the Norman F–king Rockwell! tune within the second half of this two-part epilogue, as if she’s remixed the tune “Taco Truck” along with her former self because the visitor artist. “Taco Truck x VB” can’t outrun the looming shadow of considered one of Del Rey’s most towering achievements, however that’s not its intention anyway: the tune encapsulates the album’s ramshackle magnificence by demonstrating how Del Rey’s previous informs her current, like an countless loop that can by no means cease spinning.
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“Sweet Necklace” feat. Jon Batiste
Sweet necklaces: sugary and addictive, however the reverse of nutritious! They function the metaphor for a toxic relationship on “Sweet Necklace,” the place Del Rey floats right into a falsetto on the pre-chorus earlier than deploying a hypnotic singsong hook. “Sweet Necklace” doesn’t resonate fairly as strongly following the blistering first quarter of the album, though it’s price sticking round for the swirling outro, the place Jon Batiste’s murmur joins Del Rey’s personal.
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“Let The Mild In” feat. Father John Misty
Father John Misty exhibits as much as assist Del Rey’s lead vocals on the lilting nation monitor “Let The Mild In,” and whereas followers of the kindred-spirit songwriter could also be upset that he doesn’t have extra of a highlight right here, his voice is utilized completely within the context of the tune — helping her refrain, forming a way of consolation across the phrases “Ooh, flip your mild on / Have a look at us, you and I, again at it once more.” Generally, a visitor spot could be nice for its lack of showiness.
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“Kintsugi”
Following the gospel thrives that arrive earlier within the monitor listing, Del Rey approaches “Kintsugi” like a hymn, her voice billowing unadorned above a piano as she prods at her grief. “That’s how the sunshine will get in,” she chants, utilizing the titular Japanese artwork of repairing damaged pottery and leaving the cracks on show as a hopeful technique of reworking sorrow right into a strengthening feeling.
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“Fishtail”
Del Rey upends expectations as quickly because the Auto-tune arrives on “Fishtail,” abruptly placing an finish to the hushed vocals and abetted by programmed beats. The manufacturing alternative crystallizes the tune’s message of misinterpret notion — Del Rey repeats, “You wished me sadder,” however defiantly tells the accomplice making an attempt to deliver her down that “I’m not that sensible, however I’ve received issues to say” — and likewise simply works as an upshift, positively startling the listener throughout one of many album’s quieter passages.
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“Margaret” feat. Bleachers
As an alternative of pulling frequent producer and co-writer Jack Antonoff, performing right here because the chief of Bleachers, into her thematic universe for the duet “Margaret,” the tune as an alternative facilities on Antonoff’s romance with (and upcoming marriage to) actress Margaret Qualley, going as far as to fortunately announce a marriage date. “Margaret” affords a glimpse of the intimacy between shut mates and collaborators — Del Rey sounds genuinely thrilled to sing “When , ,” about her pal discovering his accomplice — and Antonoff’s voice, deep and a bit wobbly, makes for a stunning foil.
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“Peppers” feat. Tommy Genesis
Whereas Tommy Genesis presents a catchy-as-hell refrain constructed round an Angelina Jolie simile, Del Rey shouts out the Crimson Scorching Chili Peppers — one other California establishment, which offer the tune title right here — goes for a midnight drive, dismisses a COVID scare and dances sans garments for her neighbors. “I threw warning to the wind,” she sings, and “Peppers” actually shrugs off any structural or lyrical hazards to as an alternative barrel towards a mischievous appeal, proper right down to the interlude the place the 2 artists recommend mashing up their songs collectively into this ultimate product.
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“Do you know that there’s a tunnel underneath Ocean Blvd.”
A part of the rationale why “Do you know that there’s a tunnel underneath Ocean Blvd.” made such an efficient lead single for the album of the identical title is as a result of it’s, merely, Traditional Lana, in its sweeping grandeur, idiosyncratic lyrics and musings on pale American magnificence. Should you hear extra carefully, nonetheless, the nuance in Del Rey’s vocal efficiency units the tune other than related explorations — expertly navigating between resignation and craving, accepting destiny and likewise thrashing in opposition to it.
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“Candy”
“Candy” could open with Del Rey mountaineering in Griffith Park, awash in reminiscences and regrets, however the monitor sounds primed to stun throughout city on the Hollywood Bowl, its melancholy piano and string preparations the pristine soundtrack for a calmly chilly night overlooking a city of film magic. Because the tune bends towards romance, Lana delivers probably the most successfully easy strains on the album: “I’ve received issues to do, like nothing in any respect,” she blurts out, “I wanna do them with you.”
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“Fingertips”
Upon first hear, the sprawl of “Fingertips” is overwhelming: at practically six minutes and with out a refrain in sight, the tune is positioned as an prolonged diary entry, leaping throughout ideas and themes whereas the manufacturing lingers within the background. These themes reveal themselves extra clearly after repeat visits to “Fingertips,” nonetheless, with allusions to motherhood, psychiatric medicine and surprising loss deepening when the listener is given time to catch as much as Del Rey’s wordplay; on first or tenth encounter, the tune stands as one of many album’s most bold moments, however the latter makes “Fingertips” considered one of its most rewarding.
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“Paris, Texas” feat. SYML
The album’s most dramatic “now for one thing fully completely different” change-up arrives when Del Rey follows the stream-of-consciousness “Fingertips” with “Paris, Texas,” a comparatively quick and historically structured pop tune filled with breathy exclamations and swish piano. Throughout the center third of the album — after a number of the extra experimental turns in Del Rey’s songwriting — “Paris, Texas” arrives as an exhalation, however even faraway from the monitor listing, the monitor shimmers with California daylight (Venice will get name-checked as her “residence” right here) and a cool simplicity.
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“Grandfather please stand on the shoulders of my father whereas he is deep-sea fishing” feat. RIOPY
Whereas loads of moments on the album go for delicate manufacturing thrives, “Grandfather please stand on the shoulders of my father whereas he’s deep-sea fishing” boasts a climax with a luxurious cacophony of electrical guitar, keys, synth and even a bit saxophone; Del Rey, in the meantime, tries to make use of her voice to quell the noise and grasp for an indication from above. The strains concerning the perceived machine behind Del Rey’s success (“I do know they assume that it took hundreds of individuals / To place me collectively once more, like an experiment / Some huge males, behind the scenes / Stitching Frankenstein black goals into my songs / However they’re unsuitable”) are a number of the most incisive, and memorable, on the album.
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“The Grants”
The gospel harmonies on “The Grants” are purposeful: titled after Del Rey’s household title, the opener takes its listener to church with reflections on the afterlife and booming piano that might rattle pews. But Del Rey is targeted extra on legacy than faith right here: “I’m doing the exhausting stuff, I’m doing my time / I’m doing it for us, for our household line,” she asserts, a considerate method of framing each emotional {and professional} work as a method of honoring the blood that precede and comply with us.
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“A&W”
The seven-minute size isn’t notably daring for Del Rey: anybody who’s ever vibed out to “Venice Bitch” understands that she will let a tune coast past normal run occasions and retain a way of awe. But “A&W” (which stands for “American Whore”) stands as considered one of most spectacularly courageous songs in her discography, a two-sided plunge into intercourse, medicine and Americana, filled with stark declarations about how younger ladies are perceived, and dismissed, in fashionable society. The primary half locks right into a haunting finger-picked association, however when “A&W” switches right into a darkish, minimalist digital groove — the potential for emotional devastation totally realized — the tune transcends its shell, turning an bold idea into considered one of Del Rey’s finest songs so far.
