Jen's Music Review
Jenness Mitchell • Published 1 Feb 2012 08:00
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Lana Del Rey: Born To Die
The rise, fall and rebirth of one Miss Lana Del Rey. Born Elizabeth Grant in 1986, Lana Del Rey is a character fashioned by the Lake Placid New Yorker. Lizzy-turned-Lana is a sweet marketing strategy for the indie genre as Manson is to emo-rock and GaGa to pop. The creation did the trick too as NME placed the husky-voiced pouty-lipped vixen at number six on their 2011 Cool List after only one good song. Personally at this point I felt the acclaim was a tad premature. From the instant I heard Video Games I fell in love with the track, but without listening to further material I sensed that the commercial hype-machine would applause the 25-year-old's output no matter what it sounded like. However, here's when the backlash began. Following Lizzy's dismal performance on SNL last month former praise mongers were quick to turn. The authenticity of 'Lana' was questioned and mumblings of record company manipulation was thrown around. Really, does it matter if she's had the hidden support of Interscope all along? And who cares if her lips are real or not. In defence of her SNL appearance nerves had clearly seeped in which can happen to any artist. You need only head over to YouTube to watch her belt out live tracks time and time again flawlessly. Before this release had even hit the shelves, Lizzy had been built up and knocked down publicly. Now she is ready to rise from the rubble. Succeeding 2010's Lana Del Rey A.K.A. Lizzy Grant, Born To Die is her major label debut under Interscope and Stranger Records. Honestly, having been pushed and publicised so much over the last few months my initial reaction on first listening dismissed the album entirely. Returning with fresh ears, ignoring the fact that 'Lana' looks like she's just rolled from the set of Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! and describes herself as a 'self-styled gangsta Nancy Sinatra', Born To Die is a fascinating listen. Video Games and This Is What Makes Us Girls are my favoured standout tracks. I love their instrumental, melody and story. Although from the East Coast Lizzy serves up lashings of the West with Hollywood themes of James Dean (Blue Jeans), heartbreak (Born To Die), chasing dreams (Radio), dead lovers (Dark Paradise), dressing up and dancing (Summertime Sadness), and a passion for bad boys (Off To The Races). Diet Mountain Dew is the weakest track lyric-wise but it's a hooky little number, and interestingly, the song National Anthem was written by The Nexus and David Sneddon - winner of 2002's Fame Academy. The Scottish songwriter could now follow in the footsteps of Cathy Dennis (Can't Get You Out Of My Head, I Kissed A Girl, About You Now, Once) and Linda Perry (Get The Party Started, Beautiful, What You Waiting For?) and find major success behind the scenes instead of under the spotlight. My advice for those sceptical of 'Lana Del Rey' is to believe in Lizzy Grant. Born To Die could have been another Lungs - but it was never given the chance.
Extra Info:
If you have a Spotify playlist recommendation, email me on jmitchell@alloaadvertiser.co.uk or send music my way via open.spotify.com/user/jenster13.
Videos to check out:
Gotye, Somebody That I Used To Know (feat. Kimbra): www.youtube.com/user/gotyemusic
Death Cab For Cutie, Underneath the Sycamore: www.youtube.com/user/DCFCtv
Tribes, Come Vibe With Me: www.youtube.com/user/TribesVEVO
Butch Walker and the Black Widows, Synthesizers: www.youtube.com/user/butchwalker
Josh Kelley, Naleigh Moon: www.youtube.com/user/JoshKelleyVEVO
Wavves, Bug: www.youtube.com/user/wavves
Gig updates:
NME Awards Tour (Two Door Cinema Club, Metronomy, Tribes, Azealia Banks), O2 Academy, Glasgow (8 February)
Aerials Up, King Tut's, Glasgow (11 February)
Brand New, O2 Academy, Glasgow (14 February)
The Big Pink, King Tut's, Glasgow (14 February)
Ben Howard, Oran Mor, Glasgow (19 February)
Grouplove, King Tut's, Glasgow (21 February)
Benjamin Francis Leftwich, O2 Academy, Glasgow (24 February)
First Aid Kit, King Tut's, Glasgow (27 February)
Dog is Dead, King Tut's, Glasgow (6 March)
Laura Marling, O2 Academy, Glasgow (10 March)
Florence + The Machine, SECC, Glasgow (12 March)
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