Quick thoughts on the new Lana Del Rey.

One of the major downsides to the new way of releasing music, to avoid digital leaks, is that music writers ten to have zero time to process any substantial thoughts as they race each other to be the first to post their reviews. I have largely avoided that trend, insisting that if I do review something the day it drops, it's only because I've been able to live with the album ahead of time.

But in this case, I am not really a Lana Del Rey fan—my review of her set at last year's Lolla reflects that—and don't plan on writing a full review of her new album, so I don't feel bad sharing my rough notes on Lust For Life straight from my spreadsheet that tracks all the music I listen to each year.

The first couple songs are actually good and the standouts are all duets. Overall it just gets mired in the downtempo melisma she seems mired in. In the end it still feels like more posturing than actual emoting. But I will admit there are more moments I enjoyed on this album than in any of her previous efforts. This would have actually made a really good EP.  

I also SWEAR she sang some of these songs at last year's Lolla because they sound exactly the same, but she didn't. Here work is just that repetitive.

Need further reinforcement? After I played the album for Mich (on the way to a Kesha concert that was unfortunately canceled to do dangerously bad weather) her immediate response was, "At least I never need to listen to that again. But at least I can say I gave it a try."

We both did.