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Sound Check

Those Bambi eyes and pouted lips

By Marina Csomor

Created:
02/19/12 6:01pm

Last updated:
02/19/12 6:24pm

I wasn’t sure I should even bother with this one.

After all, Lana Del Rey already has been everywhere: on music blogs, in magazines, on “Saturday Night Live,” on Twitter.

What else could I contribute to the conversation that hasn’t already been discussed about this shining star?

But I like Lana Del Rey — really like her. So, I decided I had to throw in my two cents.

It seems Del Rey is someone listeners either love or hate. There has been such an uproar about this new artist, and although I’m not sure she deserves such unfaltering attention, I do think Del Rey has talent that’s worth a mention. Her album, “Born to Die,” is a standout.

Del Rey is unabashed and unapologetic. Talking of living fast and hard, she’s the kind of girl women want to be and men want to be with.

“Born to Die” is set to a backdrop of orchestral, hip-hop infused pop. Del Rey’s voice is soft and sweet — her vocals never rise up or hit listeners with much power — and it’s easy to imagine her looking up with Bambi eyes and pouted lips as she sings.

The album’s sound is lush, but there is an underlying sense of hollowness that permeates. Its songs are about instant gratification and fleeting pleasure: hooking the bad boy, sipping on Cristal, sneaking out, kissing in the dark. And at times, that’s tragic.

Del Rey might rely too heavily on Lolita appeal. Most of her songs are about wanting little more than a man’s love. “It’s you, it’s you, it’s all for you/Everything I do,” she sings in “Video Games,” and similar statements surface throughout the album’s other tracks. I wish Del Rey had a bit more to say than it’s finding a man that makes life worth living.

This is an album that contains clever, cute lyrics and not a ton of substance. But that doesn’t bother me. I enjoy songs such as “Blue Jeans,” in which Del Rey sings, “You were sort of punk rock, I grew up on hip-hop/But you fit me better than my favorite sweater” and “Off to the Races,” in which she says, “I’m your little Scarlett, starlet/Singing in the garden/Kiss me on my open mouth.” You can sing and dance along to Del Rey’s tracks. They’re sweeping and sultry and all-around enjoyable.

The life Del Rey describes in “Born to Die” might seem glamorous, but such fun can’t last. With her wild nights and reckless attachment, Del Rey is a hot mess. And although she’s not someone to model your mindset after, she is someone whose music will provide you with the perfect soundtrack to your late-night adventures.

Listen now: “Video Games.” This song about being in rapture with a video game-playing male was Del Rey’s first hit — an Internet sensation when it was released in 2011 — and it remains my favorite.

“I’m in his favorite sundress/Watching me get undressed/Take that body downtown.”


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About Sound Check

Staff reporter Marina Csomor shares her varied musical interest.

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