Ultraviolence

Unlike some of the reviewers on this page, I was hooked on this album from the moment I got it; in fact it quickly supplanted "Born To Die/Paradise" on my personal playlist. This album has a sleekly stripped-down, entirely different soundscape from the often heavily layered mixing on the previous albums; in that respect - musically - it is a side-step rather than a leap forward, but I was immediately impressed by the quality and attention to detail on each track. Listen to the use of bowed acoustic bass on "Brooklyn Baby" for example, or the subtle deployment of the mellotron and synthesizer throughout the album - it isn`t just the beautiful guitar work that makes these such exquisite settings for Del Rey`s voice. In keeping with the previous albums, Del Rey takes on different personas for each track; I find her songs very visual - and yes, I've seen her videos, but I find myself conjuring up the lurid, paperback cover illustrations for each character she adopts; a list of pulp-fiction, soap-opera types - the battered girlfriend, the up-market escort, the gangster's mistress, the pretentious, would-be hipster of the afore mentioned "Brooklyn Baby" - a wicked self-parody, perhaps- which contains the most obvious example of the ironic, jet-black humour at play on a few of the tracks. Personally, I find her the singer most in-touch with the whole idea of Post-Modernism in the way she fearlessly appropriates ideas, idioms, songs and characterisations; she creates artistic and relevant reflections of modern Americana that are both critical and celebratory, nostalgic and fearfully negative in equal measure, yet they are all elaborate constructs - rather like Lana Del Rey herself - though I don't mean that in a pejorative or disparaging way - the singer has herself stated that she isn't at all like her alter ego. If you have the standard album, the last track "The Other Woman" serves as a neat, ironic foil to the cynical voraciousness of preceding tracks like "Sad Girl", "Money, Power, Glory"and the outrageously provocative "F****d My Way Up to the Top". The deluxe album has three extra songs that are certainly worth getting - "Florida Kilos" is a stonker of a track which suggests even greater possibilities for future exploration. It's also worth stating that you won't lose anything by downloading the album, as there are no lyrics or supplementary material contained in the CD packaging. The lyrics can be easily found online. Please don't be put off by some of the negative stuff levelled at this because it wasn't "more of the same" as some fans were expecting; "Ultraviolence" stands well on it`s own merits and is a truly rewarding, intelligent and thoughtfully inventive album - just listen, it`ll hook you.

I love Lana Del Rey to pieces after getting Born To Die and I was anticipating Ultraviolence and this album does not disappoint. I was sceptical about UV because the first single "West Coast" seemed so different from Lana's BTD formula of beautiful lyrics and vocals combined with orchestral backing and amazing crescendo chorus's (see "National Anthem" for that). The new album is much darker and less string and backing heavy as her previous record. I was worried that I wouldn't love the new Lana as much but then I listened to the album upon release and I found songs that were new but also captivating such as "Brooklyn Baby", "Ultraviolence" and "Sad Girl" as well as some songs that were, to me, pure Lana Del Rey perfection such as "Money Power Glory,"F*cked My Way To The Top" and my personal favourite "Old Money" which had soft vocals and strings that showed Lana Del Rey as the emotional ballad singer that she is and was nothing short of perfection. However, there were some songs that didn't hook me as the others such as the second single "Shades Of Cool" as well as "Cruel World" Maybe as I listen to the album more I will come to love the songs as I have the others. I recommend Ultraviolence to any Lana fan because she is still a beautiful artist who produces amazing and sensual songs with the desperation of loving someone you can't have or the story that she is trying to tell coming through with clarity as well as keeping to her well twisting up her formula but still belting out amazing ballads and she still has that crescendo to her songs that draw me back to her. Ultraviolence is beautiful and truly represents music and art in their clearest form.

2014 promised a year a of darn good new music from PAOLO NUTINI,Caustic Love album and ED SHEERAN'S X the album i had been most exicted about has to be Lana Del Rey's Ultraviolence after playing a bit to much of Born to die/The Paradise edition in the last two years i was counting down the days to ultraviolence release. I'll admit hearing West coast for the first time i wasnt to sure but after hearing it more on the radio i was hooked and later heared Shades of cool. Lana is just a stunning singer and her songs are dark, beautiful and twisted like some kind of adlut fairytale the lyrics are like poems and more you listen the more your dazzled by her songs. I feel the songs are more heavy this time round but bringing aboard DAN AUERBACH/The Black keys front man to produce was a stroke of excellence.i feel he lifts the songs and changes them into something more dramatic and dark.if possible the sound works so well with Lana.I really hope she grabs some attention with this album awards etc it's truely deserved she has created a piece of art and i'll still be listen to in 20 years time. I know from interviews she said Born To Die might be only thing she has to write sing about thank god she changed her mind, i hope to keeping hearing loads more of her work in future long may Lana regin the music industry.

Without doubt, the best album I have heard my entire life. This is a beautifully dark collection of songs, some stellar, some less so, its dark, beautiful and charmingly haunting. I'll rate each song: Cruel World - 5/10 Ultraviolence - 8/10 Shades Of Cool - 8/10 Brooklyn Baby - 10/10 West Coast - 10/10 Sad Girl - 7/10 Pretty When You Cry - 6/10 Money Power Glory - 7/10 ******** My Way Up To The Top - 8/10 Old Money - 6/10 The Other Woman - 6/10 This is a wonderful improvement on Born To Die, which was still great, but this is much better. Its almost as if this is more personal, she doesn't care how people see it, she expresses herself. Its so good. Brooklyn Baby is especially good because it starts with a smooth opening, a steady tone then the chorus comes. And it is simply gorgeous, the chorus is fantastic, catchy and a tear-bringer, I love it, its so meaningful and rich.

Surprised people haven't reacted to the lyric of the title track, and it's somewhat reprehensible promotion of domestic violence as something glamorous and desirable. I understand her need to be provocative, and I'm devoted to the woman, but she certainly went too far with this one, although one could to point to a scene from Blue Velvet as perhaps inspiration for this piece. As for the album itself, it's a touch underwhelming considering the material she delivered on the Paradise Edition of Born To Die. But it is in fact a very fine work, especially within the current pop genre, it's almost suicidal in its brave approach, but one pines somewhat for the seared into your brain melodies of Video Games and Born To Die. This is probably as uncommercial as Lana is capable of being. One of her greatest gifts is her ability to conjure magical melodies seemingly out of nowhere, but that gift is absent to a certain degree on this album. The first track is also way too long, and the tracks in general stay around too long. West Coast is spoiled to a degree by the tempo of the drums being too slow on the chorus; I keep wishing I had a device that could speed the damn thing up. I would also criticise her decision not to print more than fragments of her lyrics, as it smacks a bit of cowardice (or lack of confidence), one or the other. On the plus side there's the exquisite Shades of Blue, where Lana again channels her inner Liz Fraser (see also, Bel Air from Paradise). If I was being harsh, I would say she was kind of stealing stuff from Cocteau Twins, but I really like the fact she would even go there with her voice. Her vocals are generally superior on this album to those on Born To Die. It's also agreeable that she's dumped the whole hip-hop shtick, as entertaining as it was. I really love the playfulness and coolness of Brooklyn Baby (which is the only true single on the album in my view), though I would question the accuracy of her satire here. Speaking of satire, it is largely absent from this album, although F'd My Way Up To The Top is very amusing (I can't believe she wrote a song with that title; it's a classic). The album really reaches its pinnacle with Old Money, which is an incredibly personal and intimate ballad, one of her very best songs, even if the melody is not exactly original. You find here the core of what makes Lana unique. Some may argue what does a wealthy person have to feel melancholy about? But the very fact that she was materially blessed but is clearly maladjusted is what makes her such a vital and original artist. Nobody else could have written this song. Some have criticised her vocal performance on the cover version, The Other Woman, and admittedly when I first heard it, I thought it was over the top and a bit ridiculous, but my view has changed since then, so much so that I can't help thinking that she should do an album of cover versions next. Finishing the album in this way is eccentric and genius, and yes, despite what anyone says, Lana is a genius. It's a bit regrettable though that she no longer co-writes with the guy who helped her conceive Video Games and Born To Die. As for the bonus tracks, only Black Beauty is worth having in my opinion. The other two are B-sides at best. In conclusion, Lana is still one of the most remarkable women on the planet, but she's no longer pretending to be a hit-maker. I guess she's making music for herself, which is all she should ever really be doing. But it isn't exactly an unalloyed pleasure, and I have some sympathy for those who preferred Born To Die (although the Paradise recordings were really the peak of her work to date). The album requires patience, more than anything.

GREATTTTT and cheaper than at HMV

After loving the Born To Die album and the Paradise EP which was a follow up to the Born To Die album, then hearing there was a new album coming, I was instantly excited. The first single, "West Coast" was released and I loved it, then "Shades of Cool" and the album title track as well came out, "Ultraviolence," I loved them both and just knew Ultraviolence was going to be brilliant. A few more tracks were released on to her YouTube VEVO account and I pre-ordered this Deluxe album straight away. When the album came through the post, I listened to the whole album and was just really impressed. Lana really wrote great songs on here and the production from Dan Auerbach is brilliant. Compared to the last album, this one has more of a darker edge too. My main favourites are Shades of Cool, Cruel World, Brooklyn Baby, and F*cked My Way Up To The Top. Other than that, the album's amazing, which is why I give a 5/5 star rating!

Good