From Born to Die to Blue Banisters | Ten years of Lana Del Rey

Almost 10 years after the release of his first record, Born to die, Lana Del Rey released her eighth opus on Friday, Blue banisters. If she has engraved her name in the archives of pop culture, the mysterious and prolific singer has also sparked criticism and controversy. Back to the Lana Del Rey phenomenon.

Marissa Groguhe
Press

The Del Rey aesthetic

When Lana Del Rey first entered the musical landscape, her sad girl aesthetic (the sad girl aesthetic), which she has never abandoned, has captured the attention of an entire generation. “This style where the music is very much focused on words and stories, the slightly pin-up side, inspired by the 1950s and 1960s, a little folk, it was in tune with the times”, observes Béatrice Gaudet. , master’s student in literature at UQAM and collaborator for the journal Pop-in-stock.

Around the same time, singers like Katy Perry or Kali Uchis, she says, exhibited a similar style, though less melancholy. In Quebec, it was the beginnings of Coeur de pirate, which was also anchored in these trends. “But Lana is the archetype; There aren’t many artists who have taken this aesthetic so far and who are so emblematic of it, says Béatrice Gaudet. Even though it’s only been 10 years, we can really feel the influence that Lana had on the cultural landscape. ”

Lana’s influence

The Lana Del Rey aesthetic relates first and foremost to her music. Its cinematographic pop, marked by a retro stamp, has borrowed sounds from jazz, folk, hip-hop, over the years. The themes she addresses are recurrent: relationships with men (often older) who treat her badly, her mental health problems, drugs, death, violence … “She describes herself as a fragile woman, vulnerable and attentive to his emotions. She writes about darker subjects, which was not really done before she arrived, ”notes Béatrice Gaudet.

Its so distinct trademark has guided many. “What Lana did was not necessarily covered as a whole, but bringing up heavy themes in her music is a direct legacy to what Billie Eilish does, who herself acknowledges that Lana Del Rey inspired it, notes Béatrice Gaudet. We also have The Weeknd, who talks about his addiction [aux drogues], or singer SZA, who talks about unrequited love and affection for married men who don’t give her what she deserves. ”

We even feel, in terms of the voice of Del Rey, “very sweet and very serious”, that she could have a direct influence on the style of Lorde, adds Béatrice Gaudet.

Unloved, but acclaimed

Lana Del Rey glamorizes toxic relationships and abuse: it’s a criticism that has often been made against her and it’s something she has always defended herself, claiming to be the victim of harsh criticism. According to Béatrice Gaudet, the presence of Lana Del Rey in the cultural landscape “has been much better received than what Lana makes believe”.

But Lana Del Rey has herself bogged down in somewhat deeper controversies lately. In May 2020, she posted a lengthy text on Instagram, complaining of being criticized too often as other female artists have success singing about “being sexy, getting naked, fucking, deceive, etc. “. She then cited Doja Cat, Ariana Grande, Camilla Cabello, Cardi B, Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé, mostly women of color. “Right in the middle of the Black Lives Matter movement, […] It was very poorly received and with good reason, because there has always been a place for white women who look like Lana Del Rey in pop culture, ”says Béatrice Gaudet.

The character is controversial, but the music is gaining more and more consensus. In recent years, his albums have received critical acclaim. At first somewhat misunderstood by the media, Lana Del Rey turned the tide, in particular thanks to the excellent record Norman Fucking Rockwell! (2019). The album Blue banisters, published on Friday, is also very well received, just a few months after the success of Chemtrails Over the Country Club.

The legacy of Lana Del Rey

“I don’t think she’ll be able to replicate the level of commercial success she’s had with Born to die, but it’s not someone who makes music in order to be successful, ”says Béatrice Gaudet. Above all, “she marked a lot of people’s adolescence and adolescence is a time when our musical impressions are very strong,” she says. People have associated it with an important period in their life ”.

No one can predict the future, but Béatrice Gaudet believes that the imprint that Lana Del Rey left on her time, particularly in the early 2010s, is indelible. What if we look forward? “She might be less of a Madonna [qui se réinvente sans cesse] and no longer a Celine Dion, in the sense that she has found her niche, and her very strong artistic signature will allow her to experience success for a very long time to come, notes Béatrice Gaudet. Whether it will be a popular and commercial success, or with its loyal and loyal fans, remains to be seen. ”

Blue banisters : our verdict

Blue banisters sounds like a bunch of all the songs Lana Del Rey has written over the past few years that were narrowly sidelined from the albums she released. And what a magnificent collection! There is no unity, no real consistency, on this disk. However, most of the pieces, individually, manage to convince us frankly.

We find on Blue banisters of Lana Del Rey from all eras. There is no shortage of piano ballads, melancholy refrains and a cinematic touch either. But listening to the words, we feel a desire to be more anchored in what surrounds him and not only in what love makes him undergo. The mention of Black Lives Matter on the awesome Textbook seems somewhat forced, but a few points are awarded for effort.

This eighth album by Lana Del Rey in 10 years brings above all an autobiographical side that seems more authentic than ever. Perhaps this is why the genres are mixed, because we are told of eras and the music evolves as the story unfolds. Lana Del Rey’s pen is once again wreaking havoc.