No Frills Reviews

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I’m gonna start this review with a general point (don’t worry, its actually just a lead into a point about the album).

Almost every album ever is too long.

Seriously, if an album goes over 40ish minutes then chances are it’s too long. The vast majority of albums would be improved by cutting a song/two songs/20-30 minutes. Just get ruthless with the quality control, man. I’ll not hear any arguments on this. You may say that you can’t put a time restriction on art. And to that I’d say; you’re wrong.

Now, bringing things onto the actual review; this album lasts 77 minutes. Del Rey’s music can blend together at the best of times. So going this long was always going to be a stretch. Saying that, it is still pretty good. The opening four song run is excellent; the title track in particular is up there with anything she’s ever done. Candy Necklace and Margaret are other highlights. Stylistically, it’s largely as you’d expect from Del Rey; hushed, moody ballads with orchestral touches, and they’re mostly done really well. But you can have too much of a good thing, and there isn’t enough variation to keep things interesting.

There are elements which could have provided more contrast, such as the run of features. However, they don’t particularly stand out, such as the inclusion of Father John Misty on Let The Light In, where he essentially provides a fairly nondescript backing vocal. Peppers, featuring Canadian rapper Tommy Genesis, feels the furthest away from being typical Del Rey, while still being distinctly Del Rey, and is one of the album’s better tracks. The preceding Fishtail also brings in a subtle trap beat, but is largely a non-event. These tracks may have been better served in the album’s middle section to break some of the monotony. But their placement towards the album’s finish makes them feel tacked on. Similarly, the album ends with an interpolation of a version of her 2018 single, Venice Bitch. It’s a perfectly good track, but having it appear at the end of an album five years later, is a bit much like a random bonus track on some cash grab special edition release.

The middle section, starting with Fingertips, is where the album begins to drag. That song actually feels like some of Del Rey’s most obviously personal songwriting; the cool pretence is mostly dropped as she reflects on family, potential parenthood, and childhood memories. But it’s just a bit boring; it builds and swells for almost six minutes, without delivering any particular payoff.

And despite the album having some strong songs after that, it becomes a slog to get through, weakening their impact. The other big miss is the inclusion of an interlude from Megachurch pastor, Judah Smith. Like most spoken interludes, it’s got very little replay value, especially at four and a half minutes. It’s unclear whether this links into any actual beliefs of Del Rey – although her being into some weird Hollywood religious cult shit would feel very on-brand – but either way, it’s a bizarre, jarring left-turn.

A good album, which may have been a great one if it were 20-30 minutes shorter. So rather than finish by listing the best tunes, I’ll tell you the most skippable.

Songs to skip: Judah Smith Interlude, Fingertips, Grandfather…, Fishtail

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