Perfect for the Instagram generation, Lana Del Rey's three-million-copies-sold debut Born To Die and her follow-up EP Paradise are inconveniently packaged into one set for 2012 in what can only be desperate attempt into boosting CD sales with the deceiving notion of buying added material, which does not live up to its worth.
It is hard to analyse music in these two CDs without analysing the pampered model who fills in the templates with her overwhelming persona, or possibly, her lack of it. Lana Del Rey has a staggeringly low mezo-soprano voice that is surprisingly well-executed... sparsely. Whilst her singles like 'Video Games' explored her low-pitched vocals, the rest of the album is just the same as any other female pop star who is 'manufactured' for today. Her 'female gangster' attitude is not as convincing as her bigger fans claim.
One of the defining elements of Lana Del Rey's music is the incorporation of strings at glacial pace into her songs, to give it some sort of cinematic feel, and it is clear that her music is a visual as it is aural, but this is precisely what pulls down the albums; the song-writing is mediocre. For songs which are meant to be executed in such a majestic, epic scope, the songs are blatantly radio-friendly songs that are processed to the point of mass consumption, and in all irony, this is showcased exclusively in none other than the track 'Radio', where the songstress' unique voice is altered to sound sickeningly innocent and the song sounds unnatural and awkward. The singer definitely suffers when she reaches into her higher register and that destroys many of the songs in the album and not even the auto-tune can protect the cringe-inducing chorus of 'Carmen'.
With Paradise, the songs sound more accessible and the producers have been smart enough to utilize the elements which made 'Video Games' such a hit, the strings. However, there isn't much you can improve in a year and her high vocals on 'Ride' were enough to turn me off. Themes continue to be about how she failed to get her 'American dream', and lyrics like those in 'Cola' are downright bizarre and trying too hard:
My pussy tastes like Pepsi Cola
My eyes are wide like cherry pies
I got sweet taste for men who're older
It's always been so it's no surprise
And its chorus blatantly rips off the Beatles, the star again gives off a hideous high pitched coo in this song which I cannot stomach.
In a gist, Lana Del Rey's vision of music is visual and her execution is excellent, but the crafting of her songs need some serious work. She might also want to employ a better producer to manage her frightening high pitch.
★★★☆☆ Average - Half of album is listenable
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