Blue. The color must mean something special to Lana Del Rey, because that wash of color resonates throughout her new album, Blue Banisters. To pick a shade, look at your oldest, most worn pair of blue jeans—preferably vintage. Imagine them whole and fresh—that’s where the album starts, with the memory of that fresh pair, not the original itself. Then, see them slowly fade and tear at the knee and fray at the heel. Think about throwing them away—but don’t. Try and patch over the worst of it and then, wear them, delicately with love. Blue Bannisters feels like those trusty jeans, it’s classic Del Rey with tattered ballads and simplistic well-worn pleas, but with hints of the pandemic to secure the album firmly in modern time.

“There’s something in the air, the girls are running round in summer dresses with their masks off.” The opening line from “Violets For Roses” is such a vibrant image—a snap shot of summer 2021. It sets the tone for a song that implores for a simple life, the title referring to a man who made her trade her violets for roses. These subtle pandemic references would be out of place in the world that Del Rey creates in her albums, if they weren’t already so ingrained in our own.  So specifically an artifact from the near past. In “Black Bathing Suit” Del Ray is dealing with her “grenadine quarantine” by candidly singing, “If this is the end I want a boyfriend, someone to eat ice cream with and watch television.” And, honestly, same.

Those moments of almost too frank are standard Del Rey, as are the piano driven crooning. However, there are elements that showcase a creative stretch on Blue Banisters. “Dealer” is a duet, a jazzy slow jam that escalates to Del Rey scream-singing with rage and pain that feels nearly as cathartic for the listener. There are flourishes of the country twang that she had been teasing leading up to the album in songs like “Nectar of the Gods” and “Cherry Blossom.” There’s also an instrumental interlude that feels like a mash up of Ennio Morricone and a hip hop jam.

Here’s some more honesty, Lana Del Rey fans with enjoy this album. Non-Del Rey people probably won’t walk away won over to her side. But that’s the thing with old blue jeans, they either fit you or they don’t.

External Links

Lana Del Rey - official website