I think Paradise sounds fine, except for a little bit of over production on one or two songs. Other than that, it's all fine to me.
I think lyrically, she's still singing about the things she's always sang about: Sex, daddy issues, Celebrities, "Classical" America, God, and L.A., she's just doing it more openly. For example, she's stating names of celebrities this time around and even including their lyrics in the songs. something she didn't do on Born To Die, it's all rather interesting, just a few mentions are Elvis, Jim Morrison, Marilyn Monroe, "Sweet Child O' Mine," and the Tom Petty lyrics "Honey, put on that party dress," which she also used in Dangerous Girl. It's like with Born To Die she was inching her way toward the general public, like she didn't want to mess things up with them, now the public has recognized her and she's pushing it a little further by talking about all these great musicians, now that she's comfortable. Paradise is a representation of what it's like for Lana right now, she's past the crash or burn stage of her career, now she's in paradise.