Lana Del Rey, Norman F*****g Rockwell! | Album Review 💿

Grammy-nominated alt-pop singer/songwriter Lana Del Rey delivers arguably her best album to date with the explicitly titled Norman Fucking Rockwell!

Some people love Lana Del Rey, while others are mixed.  She’s a truly polarizing musician, yet, musically, she has quite a distinct, beautiful musical instrument.  Darkly asserting “I wish I was dead already” some years back, thankfully, Del Rey is alive and delivering her best music to date.  That’s right, Norman Fucking Rockwell!  (we’ll often refer to it as NFR! in this review), here explicitly titled sixth studio album, is arguably her best effort to date.

 “Norman Fucking Rockwell”

“‘Cause you’re just a man / It’s just what you do / Your head in your hands / As you color me blue.” Lana Del Rey kicks off NFR! with the piano-fueled, brutally honest title track, ✓  “Norman Fucking Rockwell.” Interestingly, the aforementioned chorus alludes to illustration and painting, both of which are things Norman Rockwell was famous for.  Dig deeper, and “Norman Fucking Rockwell” references and connects to other things.  Del Rey commences the frankness of the record from the jump, singing, “Goddamn, man-child / You fucked me so good that I almost said, ‘I Love you.’” Wow! Beyond the compliments regarding his sex game, she offers criticism: “But you don’t know half of the shit that you put me through…”  The point? The man pleases her sexually but devastates her emotionally.

✓ “Mariners Apartment Complex” has an alt-folk, singer/songwriter vibe. As always, Lana Del Rey serves up strong vocals, giving a playful, nuanced, rich performance. Lyrically, “Mariners Apartment Complex” gives you about what you would expect from a LDR song. The first pre-chorus references beaches – certainly not the first time (“High By the Beach” and “13 Beaches”). Additionally, there’s wordplay, and reference to a forthcoming record:

“And who I’ve been is with you on these beaches
Your Venice bitch, your die-hard, your weakness
Maybe I could save you from your sins.”

Del Rey also references Jesus, even if she’s not being genuine spiritually. Also, on the second verse, she references her kindness being mistaken for weakness.  Ultimately, it’s an alluring record with intriguing moments.

“Venice Bitch”

✓ “Venice Bitch” arrives, nearly 10 minutes in duration! Despite being exhaustive, there’s lots to like about record. Lana Del Rey and the musicians opt for an organic sound that opts against being commercial. Del Rey continues to spoil us with her vocal tone. Reverb does her voice wonders, adding more robustness. The accompaniment is lovely, with the guitars embracing a folksy sound idiomatic of alt-pop. The chorus is a pro:

“Oh God, miss you on the lips
It’s me, your little Venice bitch
On the stoop with the neighborhood kids
Callin’ out, bang bang, kiss kiss.”

There’s also a noteworthy post-chorus, which includes the lyrics, “Nothing gold can stay / You write, I tour, we make it work / You’re beautiful and I’m insane / We’re American-made.”  The bridge is a selling point, specifically how the intensity picks up by adding drums and elevating the dynamic level. Furthermore, you have to admire the old-school, throwback quality of this record, which would have easily felt at home in the 60s given its psychedelia cues and vibe.  It runs absolutely too long, but it’s certainly worthwhile.

“Fuck it I Love You”  

Lana Del Rey continues to opt for boldness throughout NFR!.  ✓ “Fuck it I Love You” keeps the momentum rolling following the lengthy but compelling “Venice Bitch.” There are lots of things to take in, much like the songs that precede.  There is the reference to a sketchy relationship, yet Del Rey seems to embrace a ‘fuck it’ mentality despite the sketchiness.  Also, there are a number of dual meanings, with lines subject to multiple interpretations.

✓ “Doin’ Time” follows, in quite surprising fashion. Lana covers the Sublime classic, which was originally a cover of the operatic Porgy and Bess gem, “Summertime”. For anyone unfamiliar with Porgy and Bess or Sublime, Del Rey makes “Doin’ Time” sound brand new and quite a nice change of pace early on during NFR!.

“The taste, the touch, the way we love / It all comes down to make the sound of our love song.”  The ‘mood’ continues on “Love Song” where Lana Del Rey yearns passionately for his affection. It’s best summed up by the opening lyric of the chorus: “Oh, be my once in a lifetime.” She sings it absolutely marvelously. “Cinnamon Girl” boast some of the best production work of NFR! (Jack Antonoff), particularly the keyboards and drum programming.  Beyond the backdrop, the chorus in particularly shines, the way Del Rey sings it, as well as the lyrics (“There’s things I wanna say to you, but I’ll just let you live / Like if you hold me without hurting me / You’ll be the first whoever did”).  It’s followed by a marvelous post-chorus, where some of those aforementioned production tricks arrive.

“How to Disappear”

“How to Disappear” gets a welcome contrast musically to a lilting, compound-duple meter.  Keeping the tempo on the slower side of the metronome, Lana Del Rey delivers a compelling story about ‘John,’ who is different from the other guys (“You just crack another beer / And pretend that you’re still here”), ‘Joe’ who she knows is (“In over his head”), and escapes to her future self (“I’ve got a kid and two cats in the yard / … I watch the skies getting light as I write / As I think about those years / As I whisper in your ear”).

Del Rey moves on to “California,” another song that is soaked with familiar themes of love, nostalgia/reminiscence, cars, and a strong devotion to California.  It’s another ballad, with its fair share of tender moments, but also finds her showing more oomph at different times.  The key takeaway is love and the singer/songwriter’s willingness to attain it – “Oh, I’ll pick you up / If you come back to America, just hit me up / ‘Cause this is crazy love, I’ll catch you on the flip side / If you come back to California, you should just hit me up.”    

The nearly six-minute long “The Next Best American Record” continues the ode to America, specifically California, that runs rampant on NFR!.  Lana Del Rey references both Topanga (“Topanga’s hot tonight, I’m taking off my bathing suit”) and Malibu on the chorus, and mentions the ‘405’ on the bridge. Besides referencing the state and its attractions and luxuries, Del Rey continues to highlight the desire for love (“There’s something that I never knew I wanted”), as well as the aspiration to attain fame in all its glory.

“The Greatest”

“I want shit to feel just like it used to / When, baby, I was doing nothing’ the most of all.” Ah, ✓ “The Greatest” provides some more punch to NFR!, with its spirited guitars and retro-tinged sound. This is one of the late, truly great songs on the album.  Here, Lana Del Rey is reminiscent, missing a past romance (“I miss Long Beach and I miss you, babe”), New York.  and rock (“I miss New York and I miss the music / Me and my friends, we miss rock ‘n’ roll”).  The outro is quite scintillating, as Del Rey lists the current happenings, which include forest fires in Los Angeles and Kanye West’s state of mind.

While “Bartender” may not be the crème de la crème of NFR!, it’s quite alluring in its own right.  Something quite telling is how Lana Del Rey refers to her own life (seemingly), whether it’s escaping fame (“Photo-free exits from baby’s bedside / ‘Cause they don’t yet know what care I drive”), avoiding alcohol (“But that Cherry Coke your serve is fine”), and a relationship with an unnamed bartender (“And our love’s sweet enough on the vine / Bartender”). She follows up with “Happiness is a Butterfly,” which has its own fair share of awesome lyrical moments and emotions.  One of the best lyrics occurs on the pre-chorus, where Del Rey sings:

“If he’s a serial killer, then what’s the worst
That can happen to a girl who’s already hurt?
I’m already hurt.”

 “Hope is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman Like Me to Have – But I Have It”

“‘Cause hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have / Hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have.”  Yep, the title of the record is just what you think it is –

✓ “Hope is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman Like Me to Have – But I Have It”. As damn-long as the title may be, Lana Del Rey definitely comes through on the album’s closing ballad, including literary and cinematic references. The ever expressive artist sounds as chilling and enigmatic as ever.

Among her best moments come at the end of the record, when she flaunts her falsetto.   Beyond her inspired vocal performance, there’s also the stripped, yet gorgeous nature of this five-and-a-half-minute ballad.  The production keeps things simple, comprised of piano accompaniment.  She manages to keep things colorful with some profane lyrics, such as “I’ve been tearing up town in my fucking nightgown / Like a goddamn-near sociopath.”

Final Thoughts

Well, Norman Fucking Rockwell just might be the best album of Lana Del Rey’s career. What really stands out about this record is how some of the songs connect with one another, as well as reminisce back to other points/songs in her career.  The mix of patriotism, love, old-school music, and other themes really makes this quite an intriguing affair. It still gets a bit slow at times, and a bit long, but, more often than not, LDR brings the heat on NFR!.

✓ Gems: “Norman Fucking Rockwell,” “Mariner’s Apartment Complex,” “Venice Bitch,” “Fuck it I Love You,” “Doin’ Time”, “The Greatest” & “Hope is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman Like Me to Have – But I Have It”

Lana Del Rey • Norman Fucking Rockwell! • Interscope • Release: 8.30.19

Photo Credit: Interscope