IanadeIrey

That’s the thing - we’re less than 90 days away and that’s how long it allegedly is between vinyl production and release day. Surely if June 1st is indeed happening, then the album has already started being pressed to vinyl. It’s possible that she coordinated things ahead of time with the same vinyl plant she took Chemtrails to, since she knew at that point that another album was on its way (per her tweet on November 17th 2020) but it’s so up in the air right now. Oh well, LOL! Time will tell!

Since we know this album has been in the works since at least ~late spring/summer 2020, I feel like we can kind of speculate the sound based on what Lana was doing. I remember her listening to a lot of the artists she brought as guests on the NFR tour, and that obviously informed the Midwestern feel of Chemtrails. Of course, the Joni references on the album came from her covering For Free on tour and her just being a fan in general. Knowing that Dealer is a “screamer”, I remember in August 2020 she posted to her IG stories a video of her listening to “Dazed and Confused” by Led Zeppelin in her car. That video was actually taken in early July of 2020 (based on her lash extensions/nails/hairstyle) so I wonder if that was when she started actively working on this record, as we know she had finished Chemtrails that summer anyways. I think we may be getting an album with lots of electric guitar and classic country-rock elements. When I first heard Lana’s description of Dealer I actually thought of that video she posted of her listening to Dazed and Confused by Led Zeppelin! I would love a guitar-driven album with lots of cool riffs and looser, twangier vocals. Maybe the “louder” songs resembling Dazed and Confused and the “softer” songs being like Stairway to Heaven, Tangerine, or Going to California by Led Zeppelin? All with a really sultry, bluesy output in the vein of Bobbie Gentry - who Lana mentioned as an inspiration to Music Week this month. excited!

White Dress is definitely up there with Venice Bitch, West Coast, and Honeymoon as my top-tier Lana tracks/favourite tracks of all time. Wow

I think that's a Georgia O'Keeffe quote (who Lana referenced in Past the Bushes - Cypress Thriving) but it's possible she referenced it/quoted it in an upcoming song or poem!

I wonder if these are lyrics/a variation of lyrics from RCS?

I agree! I love the red so much but I think the NK cover would have gone so nicely with a muted blue or green colour! All the different vinyl variants and the merch this album cycle are so cool, but there’s so much! I love it!

Those titles are so interesting! I mean, I think they are quite fitting for the last 18 months of Lana’s life and the teased themes of RCS - fame and authenticity are definitely the subject matter of some of those titles, and the fact that there’s one called “Something Borrowed” ties into her recent engagement. I wouldn’t be surprised if these are new titles!

I think it’s just the flash because the centre label seems to have been washed out by it

Same! It reminds me of the coke bottle clear vinyl they did for LFL

Not sure...it looks a bit translucent but maybe if someone posts a picture of it when backlit, we’ll be able to tell if it’s marbled or not! Every other variant seems to be marbled so I’d hope this one is too

First look at the UO green vinyl! Looks stunning:

I think the signatures are definitely real then - to be fair, there were so many to sign and she probably signed each batch quickly, so no two signatures are bound to look the same

This is why I think “Breaking Up Slowly” was a precursor to this album - it’s the most “country-rock” song on COTCC and is dark while still being subdued and calm, which is very much in Lana’s wheelhouse.

It’s her friend, Annie! it’s from release day, when the LDR chemtrails went up into the sky!

I don’t necessarily think Cherry Blossom is on RCS, but I do wonder if her quoting those particular lyrics about her hypothetical child, “Angelina” means that RCS will contain even more of an autobiographical edge and will explore her childhood and family-of-origin trauma that she said BTIG will delve into.

I’m thinking the same. I think we can pretty much conclude that there will be some sort of country/western influence in there somewhere, as she said to Music Week that she’s really inspired by bluesy, outlaw music and that she has spent a lot of time with her country music friends. Based on the “revenge” she wants with this album, I think country-rock is totally on the table! Excited!

This is kind of bad but I had an idea for the album cover where jagged pieces of rock candy would frame a shot of Lana to represent the way she’s been viewed by the public over the last year, since that has shaped the narrative it seems to have.

I think it’s used as an adjective, like you said. Similar to how she’s used the lyrical motif “white-hot” on Chemtrails, meaning “as hot as white (flames)”.

I feel like it’s location in general. Whatever place she’s in, she really soaks it in and implements it beautifully into her music and poetry. While I think being in love or not being in love would be the most obvious answer, New York, Alabama, Florida, California, the Midwest, etc. really have shaped these sonic and lyrical worlds that are woven into her experiences in love and life and I think that’s really cool - an amazing writer really knows how to do that in my opinion!

The production on this album kind of reminds me of Violet, and I think while NFR and Violet have lyrical synergy, I would say Chemtrails and Violet have a bit of sonic synergy. The instrumental of White Dress as it builds up reminds me a lot of the drums used on various Violet tracks, like What Happened When I Left You, and while it’s not part of Violet, I was especially reminded of Patent Leather Do-Over, which was also produced by Jack. The brief piano interlude between the first chorus and second verse of Dark But Just a Game really has a lot of colours musically and reminded me of Happy and the overall classic-feeling compositions on Violet. There’s this instrument that I can’t place - it’s probably some sort of keyboard synth - that almost sounds like a rainbow in a cartoon (LOL) that we hear in the background of Tulsa Jesus Freak and in the atmospheric intro of For Free. It is also used in Sportcruiser (you can especially hear it after she says “...wash over me like the foamy tops of the sea”). I just think these similarities are really cool. There’s a lot of colour and atmosphere woven into this record in the same ways as Violet and I love both projects so much. They both contain this classic, timeless feeling while having these little quirks that give them so much personality!

Every song on this damn record is just so good, they're all standouts in their own way! She truly delivered a record showcasing her beautiful voice soaring over such classic-feeling compositions - thematically it's probably her most existential record and I really appreciate her willingness to always be vulnerable. She's certainly done that on this album and it's seriously my favourite. I cannot get enough of it and I'm so happy it's finally out

I thought you were the number one Breaking Up Slowly stan, bestie!!

I feel like this record will sound like Breaking Up Slowly, especially with that really smoky, dark, bluesy guitar. Since she kind of implied it was born out of having a close circle of country music friends - Nikki Lane being the most notable - I could see her further endeavouring on that bluesy-rock sound with very earnest, narrative-driven lyrics that are typically found within country songs.

I love the roses in the fence! I wonder if that’s meant to reference David Lynch’s “Blue Velvet”: