Lana Del Rey releases 6th studio album

American singer and songwriter, Lana Del Rey, released her sixth studio album titled “Norman F**king Rockwell” this past Friday, two years since her last album release.

After her last album “Lust For Love” in 2017, Lana Del Rey is back two years later with her 14 track “psychedelic rock” playlist which includes four prerelease singles titled "Mariners Apartment Complex," “Venice B*tch,” “Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman Like Me to Have – but I Have It" and "Doin' Time.”

This album will not disappoint long-time Lana Del Rey fans. She keeps her signature “sadcore” style and the 1950’s and 60’s Americana aesthetic she is widely known throughout this album. Following the tragic love story theme in the album, she still remains the same Lana Del Rey but with a new story to tell her audience.

Starting off the album with the title track, Del Rey expresses her sadness about the guy she’s with describing being with him “colors her blue.” The lyrics, “your head in your hands as you color me blue” are linked to her 3rd track song, “Venice B*tch,” where Del Rey shows her creative songwriting skills by using an oxymoron and tells her lover to “paint her happy in blue.”

“Mariners Apartment Complex” talks about how Del Rey’s lover took her sadness away and she returns the favor by guiding and protecting him from his sins. This act of kindness by Del Rey is shown as a weakness and explains the up and down emotions she has been dealing with and goes back to her dark and deep, melancholic mood she is often known for.

‘“Doin’ Time” is a cover of the American reggae-rock band, Sublime’s song that was released in 1996. Del Rey samples the music from the original song, but puts her spin on the track with her iconic jazzy, low range vocals by using the word “summertime” instead of “doin’ time," which usually was a constant theme in her past songs.

“Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman Like Me to Have – but I Have It” is one of the most popular songs on the album and maybe one of the darkest and emotional tracks. The song has a lot of references from American poet and novelist, Sylvia Plath, who is known for her writings that talks about her constant battle of her depression. Del Rey shared to BAAZAR Magazine that the meaning behind the song that everyone has their own trials and gets stressed, but being surrounded by people that you adore and closest to give you a lot of hope.

The album overall was not a disappointment and we got to see the same Lana Del Rey that America has come to love, but in a different era of the music industry. This album requires a level of intelligence to understand the many references from notable figures throughout the track. Though the album has many bops, Del Rey did not shy away from talking about real-life issues like depression, tragic romances, and female empowerment and has put an end to the “hot girl summer” era.

Rating: 5/5