Lana Del Rey - Born To Die - Single Review

Official Single Cover

Lana Del Rey, a.k.a. Lizzy Grant, is a newcomer to the world stage, but girl has been on her grind since 2006. Her retro persona has received massive criticism, notably from hipster blogs, who question her authenticity, claiming that her image and music is the clever marketing of major record label Interscope, giving her the appearance of an independent artist using a grassroots movement to gain popularity. For the record, I don't buy that, I believe that she has been working on music for the past couple of years, uploaded Video Games to YouTube, not expecting the resulting popularity, and as a result, got signed to a major label.

That aside, not only is she retro-vintage in her aesthetic, but her music has this fantastic vibe to it, a combination of All-American pin-up girl, the stylized era of the 20's, with an often tribal/hip-hop beat underneath. Her current single, follow-up to the immensely popular and haunting Video Games, Born To Die, is one of those great moments in music that makes you stop and think, it's like nothing else I've heard. Some parts autobiographical, some part ill-fated love story, it's inherently "Lana" with it's melancholy-tinged lyrics and melodic chorus. The abstract beat of hand-claps, clanging metal, shouts and jungle noises is layered with soaring strings and her powerful voice. Her voice is a thing of interest in it's own right; changing from her deep, lower register, to high falsetto, and the Betty-Boop-sex-kitten. It reminds of Paris Hilton's dual voices, but with a touch more class.

Her lyrics are genuinely impacting, opening with "feet don't fail me now/take me to the finish line/oh my heart it breaks/every step that I take", building emotion as it build to the chorus: "don't make me sad/don't make me cry/sometimes love is not enough and the road gets tough/I don't know why" and reaching the peak with the final line of the chorus "choose your last words/this is the last time/cause you and I were born to die". What's different on this track from her others is her almost religious references, mentioning searching for something, and the line "I'm hoping the gates tell me you're mine". Though she's no catholic schoolgirl, during a live performance, she changed the line "let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain" to the more explicit "let me fuck you hard..."

Her charm is her unassuming air and general innocence (the single opens with her whispering "What? Who me?"), and yet can drop f-bombs and say "ride or die" and "bitches" without changing character. She never once seems like she assumes, but every every so often, there's a glimmer in her eyes that seems to say "I know exactly what you think about me". The girl transfixes with both her appearance, revival of Americana and her discordant, other-worldly voice. Her music is indie in nature, but with pop-melodies, blues chord transitions and hip-hop stylings, Lana is defying the boxes people try and constrain her in. She's poised to become Pop's new "It Girl".

Lana Del Rey is currently signed to Stranger Records, and is planning on releasing her debut album under Interscope Records on January 31st 2012 Worldwide.