Lana Del Rey
Born To Die

A born performer from the seminal indie cradle now in the process of moving to the "sacred" alcove of the mainstream world of Majors and music corporations. A performer who, moreover, is not inclined to follow the current electronic-disco spread promoted by the most brash disc jockeys and the most well-known exponents of what is called "puttan-pop" in web jargon (I avoid naming names and related artists), but who instead intends to bring back the most basic and linear simplicity of classic, harmonious, and instrumental pop. The artist in question answers to the name of Elizabeth Grant, Scottish-Yankee, better known by the pseudonym Lana Del Rey.

Easily placeable in the new soul/blues context - following the tragically deceased Amy Winehouse - where the plump Adele currently reigns, and attributable to the authorial songwriting typical, for example, of celebrities such as Kate Bush, Tori Amos, and Sheryl Crown (just to highlight some illustrious names), Lana Del Rey, although a novice in terms of tabloids and charts, has been crafting music for some years: the very first EP Kill Kill (in which she signed as Lizzy Grant) is from 2008, while the debut album, still underground, Lana Del Ray A.K.A. Lizzy Grant, came out two years later. Born To Die therefore represents merely a transition (even though rigorous and formal) in status at the financial-contractual level, rather than a true and proper entry into music.

Within the album under analysis, the best female singer-songwriter pop tradition of contemporary authors is unraveled, sober, sincere, light, concrete, balanced, and effective, enriched by original and not contrived instrumentalizations with strongly acoustic and orchestral tones. A pleasant little group of pop-rock tracks, variably dark and sunny, made to retrieve "sounds of the past" that even now remain unduly in a desolate niche, in a market of fourth-from-last value. Born To Die also configures as a perfect bridge between the heterogeneous and experimental creativity of the "dark" indie-underground corners and the commerciality, although of good quality, of mainstream pop, a production that will not disappoint the irreducible of independent issues, but will neither let down the most "pop-oriented" seeking alternatives to dancefloors, alcohol, and glitter.

The album opens with the title-track Born To Die, an interesting meeting between the ancestral brightness of the opening strings and the more laid-back and satisfied, almost gloomy mood of the continuation, a precursor of repetition in the subsequent Off To The Races, in which a percussion riff à la We Will Rock You is heard. In the excellent production of Diet Mountain Dew, classic pop-rock embraces pleasant soul-jazz-lounge sounds at the piano, expressed in unison in the ultra-sentimental and hyper-haunting blues-inspired Million Dollar Man, in my opinion, the absolute artistic peak of the album.

If Blue Jeans, This Is What Makes Us Girls, Nation Anthem, Dark Paradise, and Radio are other excellent examples of orchestral-instrumental power pop ballads with bittersweet and contrasting flavors, the "sad" turn of Carmen, as well as the dreamlike relaxing ballet of the first single Video Games inevitably lead the listener to a much more black destination. The tracklist closes with the ambient feeling in Without You, the enigmatic alternative of Lolita, and the romantic-sentimental ascension of Lucky Ones.

From indie to mainstream and from mainstream to indie for retroactive feedback: this is Lana Del Rey's formula and her Born To Die, a dignified and decorous blend of orchestral pop-rock ballads, far from today's dancing fluff, forgetful of wild parties and dances, abandoning synths and particularly bound to the sounds of Nature, to the purity of the simple and refined. A perfect opportunity for early pop enthusiasts, who even in recent times, far from the ancient splendor of years gone by, can filter out tasty productions and valuable personalities.

Lana Del Rey, Born To Die

Born To Die - Off To The Races - Blue Jeans - Video Games - Diet Mountain Dew - National Anthem - Dark Paradise - Radio - Carmen - Million Dollar Man - Summertime Sadness - This Is Makes Us Girls - Without You - Lolita - Lucky Ones.