Jonathan Hill

A Soapbox for Uninformed Opinions

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Lana Del Rey Ultraviolence Review

Lana Del Rey Ultraviolence Review

General Information:

Artist: Lana Del Rey
Album: Ultraviolence
Genre(s): Dream Pop, Indie Pop
Subgenre(s): N/A
Released: 2014
Length: 51 minutes
Language(s): English, Spanish
Label(s): Interscope, Polydor

Track List:

01. Cruel World
02. Ultraviolence
03. Shades of Grey
04. Brooklyn Baby
05. West Coast
06. Sad Girl
07. Pretty When You Cry
08. Money Power Glory
09. Fucked My Way Up to the Top
10. Old Money
11. The Other Woman

Lana Del Rey Ultraviolence Cover

Lana Del Rey Ultraviolence Cover

Lana Del Rey Ultraviolence Review

Ultraviolence is the third album from American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. The title proves to be ironic in terms of the music with Cruel World instantly showcasing her embracement of the soft melancholic spirit. This sets the tone of the entire album and, unlike her previous album – the nihilistically named Born to Die, there isn’t much energy behind these grey-black textural pity-revelling slow burners. It keeps coming, one song after another, with her voice being the major focal point and the most compelling aspect of the album.

Lyrically, the album touches on the light-hearted topics one has come to expect on a pop album. Domestic abuse on the title track, cooking cocaine (“White palms, baking powder on the stove/Cooking up a dream, turning diamonds into snow”) on Florida Kilos, the love of drugs on Pretty When You Cry (All those special times I spent with you, my love/They don’t mean shit compared to all your drugs) and Lana Del Ray apparently whoring herself out for success on the bluntly titled “Fucked My Way Up to the Top”.

In case you think the last of those is coated in artistic license, it probably isn’t. From an interview with “Complex” she responds to the question “Is it about people not wanting to give you credit for your success? Or is it about fucking people to get to the top?” with “…You know, I have slept with a lot of guys in the industry, but none of them helped me get my record deals. Which is annoying.”*

On one hand, songs from Ultraviolence can be listened to individually and thoroughly enjoyed. On the other, the framing of them on a single album creates a scene limited by its narrow musical vision. The glamorization of decadence is to the point of drabness, if nothing else, and feels forced.

Performers:

Lana Del Rey: Vocals
Dan Auerbach: Claps, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, shaker, synthesizer
Collin Pupuis: Drum programming, synthesizer
Leon Michaels: Claps, synthesizer, piano, Mellotron, tambourine, percussion, tenor saxophone
Nick Movshon: Claps, bass guitar, upright bass, drums
Russ Pahl: Pedal steel guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar

Full list of performers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraviolence_(album)#Personnel

External Links:

Lana Del Rey Homepage
Lana Del Rey on Wikipedia
Ultraviolence on Wikipedia

* https://www.complex.com/covers/lana-del-rey-interview-against-the-grain-2014-cover-story/

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Lykke Li Youth Novels Review

General Information:

Artist: Lykke Li
Album: Youth Novels
Genre(s): Indie Pop
Subgenres(s): N/A
Released: 2008
Length: 51 minutes
Language(s): English, French
Label(s): LL Recordings

Track List:

01. Melodies & Desires
02. Dance, Dance, Dance
03. I’m Good. I’m Gone
04. Let if Fall
05. My Love
06. Tonight
07. Little Bit
08. Hanging High
09. This Trumpet in My Head
10. Complaint Department
11. Breaking it Up
12. Everybody But Me
13. Time Flies
14. Window Blues

Lykke Li Youth Novels Cover

Lykke Li Youth Novels Cover

Lykke Li Youth Novels Review

Youth Novels is the debut album of Swedish singer Lykke Li. Accompanied by producer, musician and co-writer Björn Yttling the pair craft out a series of sleepy indie pop songs that focuses on youth, self-discovery, bashfulness, love, closeness and sex. For anyone paying attention to Lykke Li’s saccharine voice the title of album will become self-evident in a short while.

Melodies & Desires is an obvious example of this with the mood coming from a creative blend of a vibraphone, theremin, piano and other keyboard/electronic instruments. The use of percussion is minimalised as Lykke Li delivers instructive spoken word verses of “follow these instructions/do exactly as I do/lean your shoulders forward/let your hands slide over to my side/move your body closer/let your heart meet mine” and later “…then I’ll be the rhythm and you’ll be the beat/and love, the shoreline, where you and I meet.”

This contrasts to Dance, Dance, Dance in which Lykke Li sings about discovering how to express herself through dance (“having trouble telling how I feel/but I can dance, dance, dance/couldn’t possibly tell you how I mean/but I can dance, dance, dance” and “when I’m shaking my hips, look for the swing/the words are written in the air/ooh dance, I was a dancer all along”).

Complaint Department wakes up Youth Novels by moving into synthpop territory as synthesisers and drum loops become the backbone of the song but Lykke Li retains her soft voice and the contrast in moods from both sides results in a hit-and-miss combination unlike Tonight, which showcases a much stronger vocal performance. Unfortunately the same can be said for the lost opportunity that is This Trumpet in My Head. This is because while it has some poetic lyrics (“and you say you can’t stand me when I’m quiet/and so I shot you with my silence”) the other lyrics are too sparse to offer any additional context or meaning and finds itself between being an interlude and a short song in and of itself, as odd as that might be.

One of the most striking things about Youth Novels is that the lyrics don’t glamourize anything and instead they explore the insecurities and uncertainties of personal and social situations honestly. Be it the bashful Little Bit (“I think I’m a little bit, little bit/a little bit in love with you/but only if you’re a little bit, little bit/little bit in love with me”) or the self-awareness of Everybody But Me that describes an introverted mood at a party where everyone is getting on with the event while Lykke Li is “standing in the corner” not wanting to be a part of what’s happening and proclaims that “I don’t wanna be seen, touched, heard, bothered/by the fellas who got a look in their eye/they wanna take me home without knowing my name”.

The spacious arrangements allow for each instrument to breathe easily and in turn this reveals the great depth of thought that has been put into Youth Novels, ranging from the subject matter to the surprise keyboard solo on Breaking it Up and the small jazz flourishes that come out from the saxophone and trumpet on many songs or the string quartet. Ultimately Youth Novels is a reflection of an introverted personality in musical form and the low-key presentation is what will endear it to many listeners.

Performers:

Lykke Li: Vocals (all tracks)
Bjorn Yttling: vibraphone (track 1); acoustic guitar (track 1–5, 7, 8, 12); synthesiser (tracks 1, 3, 5, 9, 10); celesta (tracks 1, 3, 7); piano (tracks 1, 3, 7, 9–12); backing vocals (tracks 2, 5, 10, 12); snare percussion (track 2); percussion (tracks 3, 5, 6); electric bass (tracks 3, 5, 9, 10); drums (track 4); harpsichord (tracks 5, 7); string arrangements (tracks 5, 10); keyboards, mandolin (track 6); foot stomp (track 7); rocksichord (track 12)
Walter Sear: theremin (tracks 1, 9, 12)
Johan “Zilverzurfarn” Zachrisson: acoustic guitar, foot stomp (track 4)
Per “Ruskträsk” Johansson: saxophone (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5); flute (track 5)
Markus Ollikainen: trumpet (track 8)
Erik Arvinder: violin (tracks 5, 10)
Andreas Forsman: violin (tracks 5, 10)
Erik Holm: viola (tracks 5, 10)
Henrik Söderquist: cello (tracks 5, 10)
Mapei: backing vocals (tracks 3, 5, 9, 10)
Dylan Von Wagner: backing vocals (track 5)
Peter Moren: backing vocals (tracks 5, 12)
Lissy Trullie: backing vocals (tracks 3, 5, 9, 10)
The Suzan: backing vocals (track 10)
John Eriksson: percussion (tracks 2, 3, 4, 9, 11); drums (tracks 2, 12); cymbal (track 6); Mellotron (track 11)
Lars Skoglund: drums (tracks 3, 5, 11); percussion (tracks 3, 9); hi-hat (track 10)
Neil Lipuma: tambourine (track 9)
Lasse Marten: percussion (track 10)

Additional personnel for the international edition:

John Eriksson percussion (on “Everybody but Me”)
Per “Ruskträsk” Johansson flute (on “Tonight”)
Lars Skoglund cowbell (on “Tonight”); drums (on “Everybody but Me”)
Björn Yttling electric bass, piano (on “Tonight” and “Everybody but Me”); celesta, organ, percussion, rocksichord (on “Tonight”); flute, trumpet (on “Everybody but Me”)

External Links:

Lykke Li Homepage
Lykke Li on Wikipedia
Youth Novels on Wikipedia