What I think: Although slightly unwieldy and indulgent, Lana del Rey’s Blue Banisters has as many high notes as its soaring vocals, showcasing tracks that poignantly wrestle with identity, care, and love-lost. At an hour long, this project is a little unwieldy and doesn’t seem to move anywhere throughout like her previous two releases. Where structure becomes a problem is in the length of the album. True, there are some songs that don’t fit the mold well but these are few and far between.
#BLUE BANISTERS LYRICS LANA DEL REY SERIES#
Structure (7/10) As a series of ballads on the loss of love, pressure from societal forces on women, and turbulent identity in the face of heartbreak, Lana del Rey’s Blue Banisters is effective. As one can imagine, production on a second album in less than 8 months would become secondary to meeting deadlines but you can certainly hear it.
Although most of the tracks’ production is Lana del Rey’s signature combination of reverb and wash, several of them have parts (the beat in “Thunder”) or are entirely produced poorly or disjunctly. Production: (6/10) This area is where this album suffers. That said, some lyrics seem forced and some of the melodies and structures of songs lose momentum. Even at its lowest points, this project is written superbly and there are several images and sets of wordplay that are astonishing. Writing (8/10) At this point Lana is a veteran songwriter and it comes through in Blue Banisters. Overall, using themes of the loss of love, pressure from societal forces on women, and turbulent identity, Lana Del Rey pens an album that is comparable to her recent output, if slightly unwieldy. There is no shortage of excellent songs, however, with “Text Book” and “Wildflower Wildfire” being highlights. Continuing her more subdued and authentic songwriting off of the excellent Norman Fucking Rockwell and Chemtrails Over the Country Club, this project bares Lana’s soul in a series of complex images and wildly indulgent songs.Īlthough largely cohesive as a project about love, heartbreak, and self-care, Blue Banisters becomes less concerted in the latter half with several songs, “Nectar of the Gods,” “Living Legend,” and “Cherry Blossom” being especially lack-luster. After several changes, Lana pushed the album to October 22 and released “Arcadia” with a music video in September.
It was originally scheduled for July with three singles, “Textbook,” “Wildflower Wildfire,” and “Blue Banisters” being released back in May. Blue Banisters, is Lana’s 8th album and the second in less than 8 months.