Lana Del Rey returns to her roots with new album “Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd”
Lana Del Rey returns to the music scene with a 78-minute, 16-song album with a mouthful of a title, Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd. Following in the footsteps of her last album, Del Rey continues to revisit old music, especially tracks found under the name Lizzy Grant, and rework it for current times. Ocean Blvd consists of very tender and intimate looks into Del Rey’s life, and provides her most honest work to date.
Ocean Blvd begins with the stripped vocals of Del Rey’s backup vocalists practicing their parts, foreshadowing the intimate, honest nature of the album as a whole. The Grants kicks off the album with a morbid look into Del Rey’s future demise. By titling her opening song after her family name, Del Rey revisits her old self. She demonstrates her connection to faith when she sings in her characteristic breathy whisper, “My pastor told me when you leave, all you take is your memories” Del Rey, who’s been known to sing of her fears of aging, learns to accept her eventual death by comforting herself with the fact that she will always have her beloved memories. The Grants introduces themes of religion, death, and family that flow throughout the album.
This is followed by the title track, Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd. It’s an incredibly devastating masterpiece of a song, filled with tragic piano and string arrangements. These minimal instrumentals allow Del Rey’s voice to be given full attention. The song begins with a long exhale from Del Rey, sending chills to listeners. Del Rey compares the forgotten tunnel under Ocean Boulevard to herself and hopes not to be forgotten as it was. She begs, “Don’t forget me,” until her voice cracks with a burst of raw emotion. These painful, moving ballads are what Del Rey does best.
Next on the album is the 7-minute rollercoaster A&W, which stands for American Whore. It begins with a sorrowful piano melody, against which Del Rey raspily speaks about being sexualized throughout her life. She sings of always being the other woman and feeling unlovable. Del Rey delivers a shocking line, “If I told you that I was raped/Do you really think that anybody would think I didn’t ask for it?” She’s not only singing of her own experiences with sexual assault but of all women who haven’t been believed. In the middle of the song, A&W goes through a tonal shift from the ballad of a tortured victim to the catchy rant of a bratty teen. In between Del Rey spitting bars about tattling to her lover’s mom, the iconic strings from Del Rey’s 2019 Norman F—ing Rockwell play faintly in the background. This track outlines the journey from Lizzy Grant to Lana Del Rey, and connects the two personas.
Kintsugi is a somber song that covers themes of family and death and Del Rey’s modes of coping. The title, Kintsugi, refers to the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with golden lacquer, highlighting its flaws rather than hiding them. Every time a loved one passes, Del Rey breaks more, and she is repaired with sunlight flowing through her cracks.
Fingertips is a stream-of-consciousness, rambling song. The track begins with a sample of the melody from her song Bartender, another Norman Rockwell classic. Del Rey questions her mortality and wonders when death will come for her. This song is one of her saddest to date, in which she makes raw confessions of her mental struggles, familial issues, and worries about motherhood. She painfully admits to attempting suicide when she was 15. She speaks of her fears of passing on mental illness to a child of her own.
Grandfather please stand on the shoulders of my father while he's deep-sea fishing holds a more serious meaning than the title suggests. Del Rey pleads with her grandfather to aid her father in navigating his obstacles. She questions her faith as she begs God to send her a sign of his presence.
Fishtail is a more digital, techno song. This track covers Del Rey’s complicated relationship with her sister and their childhood memories. While out of the box for Del Rey, she does it well. Peppers is another new style for Del Rey. It samples Angelina by Tommy Genesis, demonstrating hip-hop’s influence on Del Rey’s music. Peppers switches from Del Rey’s sultry teasing to Genesis rapping,
The final song on Ocean Blvd, Taco Truck x VB, is split into two parts. The first part, Taco Truck, consists of a gentle melody and comedic songwriting. The second part of the song, VB, is a trap remix of Venice Bitch, another track off Norman Rockwell album. She adds in beat drops and ad-libs (get high, drop acid, never die) giving her listeners the long-awaited dirtier version of this highly venerated track.
In Ocean Blvd, Del Rey gives her listeners a peek into her past, returning to her musical and familial roots while still integrating new styles and the context of the time. This beautiful project is filled to the brim with emotional ballads and white girl rap, muted piano and gentle strings, and Del Rey’s melodic falsetto guiding the listeners through this journey.