Lana Del Rey’s Norman F***ing Rockwell - What You Need To Know
Lana Del Rey makes it six albums and counting today with the release of her new LP Norman F***ing Rockwell, here is everything you need to know about it...
A little background…
In the lead-up to her new album, Del Rey has been very busy with collaborations. She's worked with folk-rocker Jonathan Wilson, synthpop artist Børns, Cat Power and contributed tracks to compilations honouring both Elvis Presley and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
As well as this, the singer has become the new face of Gucci and is putting together her first poetry collection. Somewhere in all that, she found time to head back into the studio and follow-up to 2017's Lust For Life, which arrives today...
Who’s producing it?
The key man here is Jack Antonoff. One-third of Fun., driving force behind Bleachers and crucial collaborator to Lorde and Taylor Swift. He has co-written and overseen 11 of the album’s 14 tracks.
Elsewhere, Del Rey has penned a track with Dawes mainman and sometime Last Shadow Puppet Zachary Dawes, and Rick Nowels, whose credits include Adele, Lykke Li and Marina, he’s on three tracks.
Any special guests?
After 2017’s guest-heavy Lust For Life, the singer has scaled right back on that front. There’s plenty of production talent, but the only voice is Del Rey’s.
What does it sound like?
Lust For Life saw the singer in an experimental mood, moving away from her glacial take on 50s and 60s pop and taking on a more contemporary sound, one that owed more to hip-hop and trap than it did to Billie Holliday or Nina Simone.
Norman F**king Rockwell isn’t exactly a return to the sound of her debut Born To Die, but it’s much more in that vein. The production is elegant and
Lyrically, it’s more confident and more typical of her, with tracks like ‘Venice B***h’, ‘Cinnamon Girl’ and 'Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman Like Me to Have – but I Have It'. It’s more typical Del Rey territory. Jukeboxes, diners, long lazy afternoons and a series of charming, but hopeless romantic types.
Does it deliver?
This is the closest she’s been to her masterful debut since it came out. You can hear Antonoff’s influence, his colourful musical palate is a wonderful companion to Del Rey’s serene, but captivating vocals. It’s an excellent record.
