This album deserves at least one listen

Lana del Rey hits and misses with latest release

This album deserves at least one listen

Caitlin Merill, staff writer

Lana del Rey is a name that most people have heard at least once in their lives. She took the music industry by storm in 2006 when she released her first album Sirens.

Since then she’s released eight more albums. Her most recent album entitled Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd was released on March 24, 2023. It is also one of her longest albums with a running time of 77 minutes and 43 seconds in length.

Lana has been one of my most-played artists on Spotify since I made an account, so it’s safe to say I stayed up all night waiting for the album to release in order to listen to it.

 

The Grants

Usually in my opinion, the first song on an album isn’t my favorite song from the album, and even with this album being long awaited for me it didn’t change that for me. This song is overall a good song but by no means is it my favorite off of the album. My favorite part of this song is, “My pastor told me, ‘When you leave, all you take. Uh-huh, is your memories.” This part is my favorite part because it’s honest and it makes the song true because of the honesty within the song. I would give this song a solid 7 out of 10 ranking.

Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd

Much like my thoughts on the first song not being my favorite, usually, the song that coincides with the album title isn’t my favorite song either. Surprisingly this song was better than what I envisioned it to be. I would say this is the first time a song coinciding with the album title had been in my top 5 of the album. My favorite lyric from this song is probably, “I can’t help but feel somewhat like my body marred my soul. Handmade beauty sealed up by two man-made walls.” I would give this song a 9 out of 10 ranking. 

Sweet

This song is by far my favorite track from the album, it’s easily the number 1 song for me. In my opinion, the best lyric from this song is, “I wrote you a note, but I didn’t send it, ’cause that’s the best method the women here taught me about.” If I had to rank this song I would give it a 9 out of 10.

A&W

This song is probably one of my top three songs. I find this song super relatable, I’m not entirely sure why but it is. My favorite part of the song is, ““Call him up, he comes over again. Yeah, I know I’m over my head, but, oh It’s not about having someone to love me anymore.”

Judah Smith Interlude

Overall, this song is probably one of my least favorites from the album. I couldn’t really get into this song and maybe that’s why I don’t really like it. My favorite lyric from the song would have to be, “And for too long, they’ve been holding on. And finally, they just get weak and they say, “It doesn’t matter anymore.” I would give this song a 5 out of 10 ranking.

Candy Necklace

This was another one of the songs from this album that I didn’t necessarily care for. If I had to pick a lyric that I think is the best lyric I would probably say it’s, “You the best, but, baby, you’ve been bringing me down, I can see it now.” I would give this song a ranking of 4 out of 10.

Jon Batiste Interlude

I was pretty surprised by this song. I didn’t particularly think it was a song I would like but I ended up really liking it. My favorite lyric from this song is, “Yeah, I feel it. I feel it, I feel it heavy.” I would give this song an 8 out of 10 ranking.

Kintsugi

This song was a close 2nd favorite on the album within even one listen. It was a song after the first listen I wanted to listen to again. My favorite part from this song is,  “So everyone was there, they were standing and laughing. And I’m on the side with my tears streaming  down.” I would give this song a 9 out of 10.

Fingertips

This song is extremely relatable. Personally, I see it as a song about a girl who has the not best relationship with her mother. My favorite lyric from this song is probably, “Caroline. What kind of mother was she to say I’d end up in institutions?” I would give this song a 10 out of 10 rankings.

Paris, Texas

This song was another one of the songs I really liked from this album. My favorite lyric from this song is, “When everyones’ star’s bright, brighter than you are. It’s time to go.” I would give this song a ranking of 9 out of 10.

Grandfather Please Stand On The Shoulders Of My Father While He’s Deep‐sea Fishing

I really like this song but at the same time, I also don’t. For this song, I have to be in the right mood to listen to it. My favorite part of this song is probably, “God if you’re near me, send me three white butterflies or an owl to know, know you’re listening.” I would give this song a solid 6 out of 10.

Fishtail

Personally, I couldn’t get into this song. It was boring and within a minute of the song being on I was ready for the song to be over. So with how little I enjoyed the song it was hard to pick my favorite part of the song but it would have to be,  “Not that smart but I’ve got things to say.” I would rank this song a 3 out of 10.

peppers

This was another song I couldn’t really get into the vibe of. My favorite lyric from this track would be, “I threw caution to the wind, get onto the bike.” I would give the song a solid 5 out of 10.

Maragret

I liked this song more than the previous few songs but it in no way was my favorite song. My favorite part of the song is, “Then that’s your answer, the answer is no. You gotta run, gotta run, run, run, run like your head’s on fire.” I would rank this song a 7 out of 10.

Let the light in

This song was probably one of my least favorites from the album. My favorite part is,  ‘’Cause I like to love, to love, to love, to love you,  I hate to hate, to hate, to hate, to hate you.” I would rank this a 5 out of 10.

Taco Truck x VB

I didn’t entirely like or hate this song, so for me it was a hit or miss. The first time I listened to it I didn’t really care for it but a few listens later I really liked it. My favorite part of this song would have to be, “Everything’s whatever, oh God, I miss you on my lips.” Right now I would rank this song a 10 out of 10 but that could and probably will change by tomorrow.

 

Overall, this was one of my favorite albums that’s come out in the past year or so. But for it being a Lana Del Rey album I was rather disappointed with how the songs felt to me. For the album as a whole I would give an 8 out of 10 ranking. I will not listen to the album as a whole again. I may listen to certain songs from the album, but probably not the entire album from start to finish.