NOW Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 (edited) Quote In the era of social media, being unreachable is an abnormality. Artists that have tried to concoct aura of secrecy around their music in the recent past — the Weeknd, with his shadowy early press photos, jumps to mind — but eventually let us peek under the curtain when they reach a certain level of fame. Del Rey is getting bigger and bigger, but is still shrouded in relative secrecy, as she tries to say everything in her music and nothing outside of it (or rather, take back the few things she did say outside of it). Is “Ultraviolence” a confessional or utter bullshit? As a piece of art, it doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that hundreds of thousands of curious listeners are picking up a copy this week to parse through the truth and lies, and other artists will take notice of those numbers. Del Rey is changing the game in real time, without letting her followers fully into her world. More than anything else, it feels as if “Ultraviolence” is the first step toward pop obscurity in the age of over-sharing. https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/lana-del-rey-ultraviolence-pop-influence-6128764/ Quote She’s never sung like this before. The characters and artifacts that surround these songs feel artificial, like stock props, but the music that Del Rey pulls them through splits them open, shakes them to life. She walks that tough line of high melodrama, demanding emotional investment in stories that nakedly display their own falseness. The way she sings, you start to guess that there’s real love somewhere inside all that gloss. https://consequence.net/2014/06/album-review-lana-del-rey-ultraviolence/ Quote Ultraviolence finds one feeling--a seedy, desperate, hyper-romanticized sense of isolation and loss--and blows it up to drive-in screen proportions, saturating the color riding the blue crest of sadness for the better part of an hour. Whether or not you want to take this particular ride will largely depend on how much stock you put in “authenticity,” your tolerance for Del Rey’s vocal tics, and your reflexive response to her lyrics. https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/19449-lana-del-rey-ultraviolence/ Quote But Lana the songwriter is so strong that despite shedding the if-you-want-trolling-you-got-it humor of “Cola (*****),” or any lines as quotable as “Carmen”‘s “She laughs like God/ Her mind like a diamond,” or any chorus as breezily hummable as those of “Diet Mountain Dew” or “Radio,” Ultraviolence survives yet another of Lizzy Grant’s transformations. https://www.spin.com/2014/06/lana-del-rey-ultraviolence/ Quote Ultraviolence doesn’t arrive out of a void. Lana Del Rey has been honing her craft in the public eye, with every misstep ruthlessly pilloried by people like me. Despite the onslaught, she’s emerged triumphant. Del Rey takes the well-deserved opportunity to strike back at her detractors on “Brooklyn Baby” and “Money Power Glory” (maybe my two favorite songs of the bunch). A great album, however, is the best revenge. https://web.archive.org/web/20190825191446/https://prettymuchamazing.com/reviews/lana-del-rey-ultraviolence Quote The idea for the “horror film end credits” cover for Ultraviolence [Lana Del Rey] came from my desire to introduce a little narrative that Lana and I could chase together, and to honour the muse of the project. I was imagining a sort of black-and-white, 16mm-looking nightmare. Almost in the vein of The Honeymoon Killers from 1970, or the original sixties Night of the Living Dead but with a beautiful, brooding heroine as the hero. What if Lana replaced Catherine Deneuve in Repulsion… what would that look like? For me, the whole project was made in that spirit, and I shot tons of black-and-white imagery to suggest that kind of iconography. I kept all my colour imagery for the more fairy tale- like themes. Dorothy/Wizard of Oz vibes, but with Dorothy smoking a cigarette in a bed of hydrangea. With that particular album [Ultraviolence], I think the obvious thing to have done would’ve been to present Lana in some violent, over-the-top artwork to complement the title, but I think the cover would not have dated well had we gone too on the nose with it. https://www.exitmagazine.co.uk/photography/neil-krug-figures-landscapes Edited June 16, 2023 by NOW
NOW Posted June 13, 2023 Author Posted June 13, 2023 Quote The new Ultraviolence vinyl repress has now sold out across all of Lana Del Rey’s stores. An estimated 20,000 copies were available. This repress is a gatefold (mock-up TBD), which will differ from the original 2014 Urban Outfitters pressing, which was only a single sleeve. https://twitter.com/LanaDReyOnline/status/1668675516407373824 Were you one of the Lucky Ones.mp3 who snagged the exclusive repress this morning?
Sawk Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 I wanted this so bad, i ordered a copy from Austria for like 90 bucks, please kill me Hope they restock her american store so i can cancel this one, but im not risking missing out
UnusualBoy Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 The title track remains a masterpiece and so does West Coast
shookspeare Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 this album was so formative for me it's embarrassing I'll never forget hearing the opening of Cruel World for the first time 1
stjosephprey4us Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 (edited) Her best album I think. It aged better than NFR! And we’ll see if it withstands the test of time against Tunnel, but I honestly think it already outdid it Edited June 13, 2023 by stjosephprey4us
Mr. Peanutbutter Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 You know an album is good when even the leaked songs from the album's sessions are 10/10. Masterpiece.
NoOneDiesFromLove Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 Her second best album will this make it chart on BB200?
NOW Posted June 13, 2023 Author Posted June 13, 2023 (edited) 6 minutes ago, Mr. Peanutbutter said: You know an album is good when even the leaked songs from the album's sessions are 10/10. Masterpiece. And those leaked songs being out for years finally being put on streaming...and then becoming her biggest hit in over a decade. 1 minute ago, NoOneDiesFromLove said: Her second best album will this make it chart on BB200? Probably not since its physical sales aren't that high right now but it has a very good chance of returning when the exclusive repress goes out in September if streams remain stable by then. Edited June 13, 2023 by NOW 1
NOW Posted June 13, 2023 Author Posted June 13, 2023 This Billboard article aged really well, especially since she deactivated her IG a few days ago Quote In the era of social media, being unreachable is an abnormality. Artists that have tried to concoct aura of secrecy around their music in the recent past — the Weeknd, with his shadowy early press photos, jumps to mind — but eventually let us peek under the curtain when they reach a certain level of fame. Del Rey is getting bigger and bigger, but is still shrouded in relative secrecy, as she tries to say everything in her music and nothing outside of it (or rather, take back the few things she did say outside of it). Is “Ultraviolence” a confessional or utter bullshit? As a piece of art, it doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that hundreds of thousands of curious listeners are picking up a copy this week to parse through the truth and lies, and other artists will take notice of those numbers. Del Rey is changing the game in real time, without letting her followers fully into her world. More than anything else, it feels as if “Ultraviolence” is the first step toward pop obscurity in the age of over-sharing. https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/lana-del-rey-ultraviolence-pop-influence-6128764/ 1
State of Grace. Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 (edited) One of the best albums EVER made West Coast is still her best song and magnum opus. I don't think she's topping it although she came close several times. Edited June 13, 2023 by State of Grace. 1
May Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 i remember the night this first came out, i was 14 . i put on my leather jacket and a white shirt and i went for a walk at 1am not knowing where tf i was going , just walking anywhere and listening to this MASTERPIECE . i literally remember the way the air tasted that night . what an amazing album
Ger Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 The magic she made with Dan Auerbach. What an exquisite album, it always will have a special place in my heart.
MotoPapi Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 A masterpiece. **** I remember buying this and listening the day it came out. what an amazing album.
helpthomas Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 i own the OG pressing from UO that i bought in 2014 but i want this repress soooo bad bc it's a gatefold
Matthew4815 Posted June 13, 2023 Posted June 13, 2023 An amazing album. We stan this classic! West Coast is my life.
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