Chemtrails Over the Country Club / Lana Del Rey / March 19, 2021
- Joshua Yoo
- Mar 26, 2021
- 2 min read
Following her wildly successful and acclaimed ‘NFR’ of 2019, there was curiosity as to what musical direction Lana Del Rey would venture into next. That direction would ultimately take shape in the form of her seventh studio effort ‘Chemtrails Over the Country Club,’ where Lana tones down the theatrics, strips back the instrumentation, and extends her display of quality melodies and songwriting.
As the stirring piano notes and evocative, passionate vocals of the opening “White Dress” reminisce fondly of her past, Lana first ushers listeners into this complex world of nostalgia, fame, love, and mystery, which she creates from a blurry mix of her reality and her dreamy, Americana-tinged fantasies. Themes of escaping and the allure of running away prevail on the album both lyrically and sonically, such as on the wistful, acoustic-driven “Not All Who Wander Are Lost,” a play-on-words with the idea of wanderlust, as Lana entrancingly sings of the beauty of being on the road.
Vocally, Lana compliments the more bare instrumentation and variance of styles found on ‘Chemtrails,’ her performances more ambitious and dynamic than ever. Her playful, hushed delivery on “Tulsa Jesus Freak,” with its subtle embellishments of autotune, surprisingly fits the sentiment and tension of the track. And the uncharacteristic biting growl of her voice found on the funk-rock section of “Dancing Till We Die” is easily one of the more notable and compelling vocal passages on the album.
With ringer Jack Antonoff at her side, Lana has managed yet again to capture the beauty of her clever, colorful songwriting through consistently mesmerizing vocal performances and well-crafted minimal production. ‘Chemtrails Over the Country Club’ proves that even at Lana Del Rey’s softest and most tender moments, her artistry is still intoxicating and gripping as ever.
Highlight(s): Wild At Heart, Not All Who Wander Are Lost, Tulsa Jesus Freak, Chemtrails Over the Country Club, White Dress
Lowlight(s): Yosemite
SCORE: 7/10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMZdbpeyHAc
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