Lana Del Rey, who seems to be having to defend herself more and more recently, released the title track of her delayed seventh album and it’s… not bad…
“It’s not bad” probably isn’t the high praise that an artist is looking for from the lead single of their upcoming album but it’s the praise I have for it. The song is far from bad, and I like it. I just feel like it’s more of what we always get from Rey – dreamy, ethereal musings with a hint of that classic edgy Americana she’s always repped – and while I’m a big fan of the American singer, I also expect more.
The singer’s last offering Norman F**king Rockwell shone. It was Lana at her best and I thought she would build upon that in Chemtrails Over the Country Club. But, she didn’t. Instead, the song feels like you could drop it into the tracklist of any of her other albums and I wouldn’t consider it too far out of place.
In my opinion, the song gets interesting when it starts to build around halfway through and that’s thanks to the production of song producer Jack Antonoff. Now, if you don’t know who Jack Antonoff is he has produced some of the biggest albums in recent years, such as Taylor Swift’s celebrated Folklore, Lorde’s beautiful Melodrama, and Rey’s own Norman F**king Rockwell. At moments, you can hear that Folklore style production in Rey’s newest single, and it feels almost like the work of her previous album, it just falls a little short.
I don’t think the song is bad, not in any way. It’s just not quite what I expected, not after the success of her previous album which boasted songs like Happiness is a butterfly and The greatest which packed such an emotional punch. I’m hoping the rest of the album lives up to expectations.
Chemtrails Over the Country Club, the single, is available to stream now and the album of the same name will be released March 19, 2021.
Rating; 6/10
By Robbie Nichols
Feature Image Credit: Universal Music Operations