Lana Del Rey - Chemtrails Over the Country Club Review
Chemtrails over the Country Club isn’t as radical as her last handful of projects but this is not an ultra-conformist pop record either.
She may be among the most polarising women in pop today but Lana Del Ray’s latest album has proved her penchants for songwriting, soft psych-pop and melancholic vocal motifs are still very much present. Why, then, had Lana become such a divisive figure in pop? Your casual y2k minimalist pop bopper has been slating their previously held queen for going down a heavy singer-songwriter route but, for the average listener, Del Ray has shown her ability to throw her head above the water and bring forth a sound that’s recognisable, yet fresh and exciting. Her last project Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass was a rather interesting book/album combination and met critical acclaim. The album consisted of spoken word poems, dealing with topics of social acceptance entangled with an internal battle whether to peruse a carefree life. Lana’s 2019 release ‘Norman Fucking Rockwell! has been regarded as her masterpiece; with its slightly edgy and sharp psychedelic folky sound, the New York born-and-raised singer-songwriter showed a unique ability to create dreamy and minimalist soft pop that didn’t play to the game and broke boundaries on what can become a commercial success in the current climate.
So where does that place Lana Del Ray today?
She teased at the release of a new album late last year, with the announcement greeted with celebration. With Lana’s prolific and expansive backlog, fans have been unclear on what this next project would entail; what we got wasn’t short of expectations, in the best way. The album opens with the slow burner ‘White Dress’: a crescendoing, dejected epic of a track. Whilst mellow in timbre, the opener is tense and gripping. It’s a great example of Lana’s ability to create an engaging and emotional subject matter and intertwine it with her haunting vocals. On the subject of Lana’s vocals, her range is concise and efficient on this album; it extenuates to us how much she’s developed and experimented with her style over her last seven releases. Lana has definitely found her own sound.
The climax of ‘White Dress’ is close to tear-jerking, which made me laugh after looking over the lyrics, which read like they’re from a Dry Cleaning song. There’s definitely a faint sense of purposefully cynical humour on this album, with this track discussing the ‘us and them’ complex within America currently. Lana shows a more free and explorative writing process in addition to being provocative, which is an art she’s mastered. I couldn’t ignore Lana’s excellent breakage in the chorus with the line ‘Down at the Men in Music Business Conference’. The eccentric accent mixed with cramming a few too many syllables into the bar is quite genius, and I can’t help but note.
The title track follows, a somewhat classic Lana Del Ray ballad; ‘Chemtrails over the Country Club’. The track on the surface is a playful, tongue-in-cheek love song mirroring a Bonnie & Clyde type of relationship, but there’s a lot more to the track than that. The song is somewhat of an ode to Americana of the 50s and 60s, with a magnifying glass on the consumerism boom against the countercultural war, a staple of the latter. The instrumental is minimal, yet atmospheric and effective, again showing how interesting Lana can make a mainly piano-driven instrumental so gripping.
‘Tulsa Jesus Freak’ is the next in the album, stylistically following from the previous track, and it’s one of the more rhythmic tracks on the first half of this LP. The snapping cross sticks are a nice addiction as Lana’s vocals take on a Lorde-esque timbre on this number. With the slightly off-tune chants in the chorus, there’s definitely a nice edge to this track which is quite refreshing.
I think it’s very possible that the next number, ‘Let Me Love You Like A Woman’, was written during the process of Lana’s last project, as I feel the lyrics and delivery have a poetic distinction. This track is as bare-bones as it gets on this album; almost entirely piano-driven with a sprinkle of synth and guitar. It’s also, in my opinion, one of the less linear songs on this LP; Lana’s call and response harmonies are delivered so beautifully on the chorus of this track, it stands out as one of the best hooks on the album.
‘Wild At Heart’ brings one of Lana’s best vocal performance to the first half of the track. These vocals carry the first half of this cut, with all other instrumentation pushed as far back in the mix as possible. The second half is handed a generous load of harmonies, and the country and western sound is deeply satisfying and executed brilliantly. It’s actually a sound I’m surprised that Lana hasn’t explored further, as it plays to her voice incredibly well. One final vocal cascade finishes this track off beautifully.
This album was bound to hit a radio-friendly pop banger as some point, and we find it bang in the middle with ‘Dark But Just A Game’. This track has more percussion than any songs thus far and its drums are unhinging and locked in loosely with the synth bass; it’s just as jolting as you’d expect and it fits Lana’s delivery in a disjointed way. This track is one of the standouts, mixing the recognisable and atmospheric piano that Lana’s music has been defined by, with a vintage-sounding live kit that plays in its own pocket and some rumbling fuzzy bass beneath them all. For me, it’s one of the most interesting takes on this album.
‘Not All Who Wander Are Lost’ is another vocal-heavy banger; the take is rich with harmonies that compliment light keys perfectly. It definitely has one of the most relevant themes, with lyrics that show someone losing their sanity. The hook almost feels ironic, and gives a sarcastic take on the common saying, but that is left to listener opinion.
The album hits a very vocal-centric lull between ‘Yosemite’, ‘Breaking Up Slowly’ and ‘Dance Till We Die’, with three very classic Lana Del Ray tracks. All three feature next to no expansive percussion, just melancholic piano, light strings and Lana’s vocals. ‘Yosemite’ is the stand out track of the second half of the album. It’s another very relevant number; the track details how relationships can change people and how people shape those relationships. It’s easily the most angelic and meditative on the album.
The LP comes to a close with a cover of Joni Mitchell’s ‘For Free’, a track that fits the references to classic Americana throughout the album. It’s also the only number with credited features that this album sees; Zella Day and Weyes Blood, whose vocal sections are welcomed. I think it’s a shame we didn’t see more features throughout this project. It’s not the strongest closing track but it’s still a solid cut and meets expectations as a classic ode to consumerism and pop culture.
The production on this album is fresh; the vocals are pushed hard in the mix, enough to give some really creamy overtones in some cuts. Lana’s vocals drive the songs, so why shouldn’t they drive the mix? The pianos are light and make little attack, the synths are wide and exciting. Everything is angelic. Lana Del Ray has shown a slight shift in sound with this release, though I think she’s really used this album to give her songwriting and sound some consistency, which I think should be celebrated. Chemtrails over the Country Club isn’t as radical as her last handful of projects but this is not an ultra-conformist pop record either. The album is an ephemeral experience that I would strongly recommend.