Chemtrails Over The Country Club - Lana Del Rey: Review
Lana Del Rey
is the caliber of pop star who really needs no introduction. She first emerged with a hugely successful album full of hit singles on her 2012 debut Born To Die and in the decade since has been responsible for numerous critically acclaimed albums culminating in 2019's Norman Fucking Rockwell.
Review By Lav:
It's no secret that I've dished out quite a bit of critical acclaim in Lana's direction over the years. I called Born To Die one of my favorite pop albums of the decade last year, I wrote a very positive review for Lana's spoken word album Violet Bent Backwards Over The Grass and the most recent 10/10 review to that I've given was back in 2019 to my eventual album of the year, Norman Fucking Rockwell. Given her versatility as a singer and a creative as well as her strong cast of collaborators and rewarding songwriting there is always reason to be excited about what Lana is doing next. Turns out Chemtrails is Lana's most stark effort yet with instrumentals that trend in a far softer direction and songs with personality that take a bit more digging to uncover. In shifting her formulas Lana achieves a distinctly different but undeniably just as appealing sound.
The record doesn't have many lulls and almost all of the come in the 2nd half, meaning the album gets off to a remarkable start. The weakest track in the first half is honestly the records lead single Let Me Love You Like A Woman, a song that was good enough to make my Singles Of The Year list last year. The song is a good ballad that fits in with the record but fails to stand out when its toe to toe with some of the stronger tracks. The predominately piano led instrumental is a nice change of pace and the hook is solid but it all adds up to just a solid deep cut. The other single and title track Chemtrails Over The Country Club is easily one of the better songs I've heard in 2021 so far. The hook is catchy despite Lana's meditative vocals and lyrically she paints a surprisingly vivid portrait in between discussions about astrological signs. The songwriting is the major focus and keeps the track on a blissful high but it also works in tandem with a patient rise in the instrumental that makes the enveloping second half of the song absolutely heavenly.
White Dress is quite the stark opening track with Lana's breathy vocals dominating the mix in an immediately evocative and gripping way that sets the record apart from anything else she's done right away. The subtle gliding guitars in the background give her tons of space to absolutely take over the song with her vocals which feature more conventional refrains on the verses and surprisingly off kilter and striking hook. The entire track is incredibly strong-willed despite its stark sound and makes for a beautiful opening ballad. Tulsa Jesus Freak is another example of an evocative track with its title surprisingly being no subversion from the songs actual lyrical content. The track has a quiet but steady drum beat that gives it a more driving tangible core than some of the ballads. It also has another very good hook with Lana calling out with distant backing vocals while breathy moans take the forefront of the song over for a very memorable moment. Next up is Wild At Heart a Honeymoon era sweetheart anthem that feels straight out of old Hollywood and is ridiculously cute with a sneaky adult demeanor. The subtly glitzy instrumental is a major highlight when it rushes in during the first hook, it's a sugary love song that grabs me from start to finish.
The back half has some great moments as well starting with Dark But Just A Game and even further throwback sounding right out of Ultraviolence with more breathy vocals and a dark tangible sensuality covering absolutely everything. The rattling percussion and steamy love story are classic Lana staples and sounding prettier than ever here. Yosemite has a surprise with an acoustic instrumental that sounds far more rustic than anything Lana has done before. She fittingly trades out some of her typical lyrical themes for a more macro exploration of relationships and how they shift and change with the world around them. The subtle but textured instrumental keeps the song refreshing even during its quiet transitions and makes the moments where Lana takes over vocally sound even more grand. She ties the track up with a spoken word bridge in the back half and I found myself enjoying the song more every time I heard it.
The two songs with guest vocalists are memorable, even if slightly flawed. Breaking Up Slowly kicks off with vocals from Nikki Lane and she brings that distinctive Americana tone with her. While both of their performances are great in their own right the real prize is their absolutely gorgeous harmonizing which makes for a soaring hook. I do think the song feels rushed and a bit underwritten at under 3 minutes and when it ends I feel like the pair should still have more to say. For Free is the closing track and a grandiose cover of the Joni Mitchell song that features guest vocal contributions from both Zella Day and Weyes Blood which all feels like a very natural crossover. While Lana's fragile singing is very pleasant Weyes Blood absolutely steals the show on the back half of the track really living up to the moments of swelling instrumentation. Unfortunately being the last song on the record is also sort of feels like it ends out of nowhere. As many nice pieces as it has I wish it had done a little bit of a better job at really nailing being a finale.
Not All Who Wander Are Lost is the first real creak in the record as a ballad that is often too slow for its own good. The hook suffers more than the verses even though I think the lyrical content is a bit clever and very relevant to the story, but it unfolds in a way that leaves me bored before its all said and done. Pairing this with a stripped back instrumental makes it nice on the ears but ultimately a bit shallow. The first half of Dance Till We Die is the closest thing to a dud on the record which is unfortunate given its title is a reference to one of my personal favorite Lana tracks Lust For Life. The songwriting does very little for me and I don't find the hook that memorable despite some lyrical references towards a few high profile friends. With all that being said the last minute of the track is WAY better than the rest of it with a great pseudo-country style breakdown that Lana pulls off better than I could have ever imagined and the best rendition of the tracks hook it has to offer.
Chemtrails is a very good record, lets get that out of the way first. Lana delivers on her unique promise of personality filled songwriting that applies classic glitz and glamour to contemporary pop sounds. She pulls this off with far less instrumentation than ever before but is up to the task as both a vocalist and a songwriter with very little moments on the record that feel boring or unmemorable. That being said compared to some of Lana's more masterful works there are a few gaps to be found here. The first half of the record is DRASTICALLY better than the second half even though it's never been Lana's approach to the early parts of previous albums. While there are plenty of lyrical and instrumental consistencies across the project there are also moments that feel immediately out of place the moment they emerge. Ultimately the lack of consistency is just a footnote among plenty of great tracks, vocal performances and lyricism that makes this once again an immediate candidate for one of the best pop albums of the year. 8/10
Album Cover Review By Tyler Judson:
