West Coast

RIP Emile Haynie and Dan Auerbach

More like Legends on Legends. This is amazing.

Agree, but at the same time it just sounded cheap rather than charming. Even on the title track the piano sounds tinny... comparatively to HIAB on which it doesn't, might've been intentional, but that's not so cohesive, is it? Also, How To Disappear is probably the perfect example of a track that sounds more like an experimental demo rather than a finished and properly mastered tracks. I'm all for achieving a low-fi type of sound and making the songs sound not too perfect, but there's a line between leaving intentional flaws to add "charm" to a song and creating a cohesive sound, and making a song just sound cheap.

Every single post I make are about the absolutely atrocious production and mastering of this lackluster record and how the lyricism isn't nearly as mature and groundbreaking as some of you Stroganoff stan make it out to be AND how much the very same critics now crowning Lana as a musical genius for this record completely disregarded her entire discographby since she hit the scene. Which retrospectively, them eating shit as we speak is downright absurd and hilarious. But go off I'm also legit curious about some of you guy's opinion about her past albums at the time of their release? Like did you agree with all the negative backlash and the critique of character they made? And also how little they actually critiqued the music itself in these now so called revered musical reviews, but championed vicious and personal attacks? Like all of a sudden what they write about Lana is literary gold and factual, but back then, I'm pretty sure most of you guys jumped off and were ready to go for the jugular with some of these musical reviews. Genuinely curious. Ps: An album that has "fUcK iT i lUuUh yaAA!", "How To Disappear" as well as other obvious production and mastering flaws, cannot seriously be considered a masterpiece or better

He's just overwhelmed that critics recently woke the fuck up and finally gave Lana a long overdue round of applause, that all of a sudden this is it, this is Lana's most interesting record. Doesn't matter that the album as a questionable production/mastering and weak lyrical moments, it's whatever. All of her other albums don't mean crap and all aged like sour milk and were never even good to begin with. If you happen to think NFR! isn't all that great, you're delusional and somehow you're holding on to this old idea of what Lana should and has to sound like... oof. It's kinda sad tbh.

Honestly, all I get from Jared and some other members here, is that they think of Jack Antonoff as some sort of second coming over christ that saved Lana's career. Which is just baffling. Lana released three drastically different albums that sound nothing like the other, it's got nothing to do with the sound she went for, but the road, or execution she took to get there. Some of you guys just can't deal with the fact that there's an obvious downgrade in terms of sound quality on this record and pretend like this "adds" to the so called "charm" of the album, but in actuality just make it sound cheaper. To pretend like we want Lana to stick to a certain sound/style is just ridiculous. Is it just too much to understand that we want something that just sounds decent and not of lesser quality, from someone that actually released albums in the past that fit that very description?

I would honestly agree with you if NFR! was actually on an another level comparitively to her past releases, but it simply is not. The production and mastering of her past releases felt more cohesive and meticulous (except LFL) than what ended up being on NFR!. I still see NFR! as being the weaker album overall from a production point of view, there's is no highlight moments production wise on this record, or at least not for me. The album just lacks that "oomph" that the other albums had, it definitely lacks this sort of mix between intensity and/or mystery/mysticism or weirdness you'd find in a Lana album or song. Sorry to bring this up again, but I'm genuinely upset how most of the album has this dry, flat and tinny tone about it, so much for someone that says she spent months and months mastering records. I'd say that Get Free is probably the last Lana song on which Lana actually sounded like the Lana of her first records, the construction of this track is so "weird" yet interesting. Can't really say the same about the vast majority of songs on NFR!. There has definitely been growth on Lana's part, to me it feels like everything past Honeymoon, she stripped away the so called "Del Rey" persona in her music and lyricism. Agree, that she sounds more earnest on some songs on NFR!, but as for others I wouldn't say that lyrically it's her most interesting or mature album (that would be hands down Honeymoon) there are definitely songs that sound a little lyrically "basic" on NFR!. Like to me Venice Bitch... I like the song, but I definitely feel like the hazy/dry musical outro basically exists to beef up what was at the beginning a pretty weak song. The "Oh god miss you on my lips, it's me your little Venice bitch" and "woah woah for-ever", it might be 10 minutes long, but I don't see it as being career defining like some other fans. Not to mention her infamous and cringy "babies on the tour lyfe" lyrics in Happiness Is A Butterfly... You're right though Jared, there is no conspiracy, critics just want to hear more or less the same, for a lack of a better word, basic or less extravagant and/or weird stuff. Or at least not from someone like Lana, who up until fairly recently was like a black sheep in the music industry.

Agree, it's great that she finally receives acclaim and accolades for her work, but it kinda feels too little too late. NFR! surely was a great release this year, but it's pale in comparison to her first three records, it's legit her most subdued album.

Right?? Ever since she released When The World Was At War We Kept Dancing (which could've honestly been shortened to just "We Kept Dancing" or "World At War" like...) and now Hope Is A Dangerous Thing For A Woman Like Me To Have - But I Have It (which could've obviously just been titled "Hope"). Lana def think of a sentence and build lyrics around that. It's honestly hilarious and ridiculous.

Well agree to disagree. On Ultraviolence I really enjoyed the "raw" sound, I felt like it was a reflection of the raw content of the lyrcis in there, and the instrumentals actually sounded beautiful, intricate, intense yet balanced. But on NFR I just don't think that the white noise, very compressed/flat type of sound, and obvious poor mastering on most on most tracks gave the album "charm". It's very subjective I suppose.

Agree, but also I read that thinkpiece in its entirety and Ann definitely tried to pass it off as an album critique, but it was more or less of the same redundant bullshit that people have been saying about Lana for years now, but at the end it was like "Oh and btw critics are finally softening up to you and gave you good reviews for your last album, bye". Lana pretending she doesn't have a "persona" is annoying, because I venture to say that every songwriter ever, in a way, have one. But at the same time, I feel like Lana's reaction was valid, simply because she has been at the receiving end of so much hatred and animosity from these critics since she first hit the stage as "Lana Del Rey", so for some people to still question her authenticity and call her whole gig "uncooked", her being angry, although it might've sound a bit petulant, it was valid.

Not being picky though, it's literally the first thing I hear on the very first track of the album, how "flat" the vocal track sounds like, and also how the entire instrumentation of the title track sounds tinny, like it has this sorta cheap metallic sound (?) like at some point it legit sounds like loose change in a pocket. Still love the song, but much like the vast majority of this record I'm honestly perplexed about what happened, or didn't happened, when they produced/mastered this record. The so called flaws are obvious.

Don't get us started on this bitch. Her "review" was an attack on Lana's so called persona calling it "uncooked", which was quite frankly a lie and very uncalled for. But the whole vibe I'm getting from NFR, in my honest opinion, is very that... "uncooked", at least from a production point of view.

Ehhh Agree that it was probably the intention on this album, to have a more simplistic, less atmospheric type of sound, but it fell flat a bit to me. There's a huge difference between having a so called "overproduced" sound, and the the album sounding downright cheap. Honeymoon is far from overproduced, it's lush and etheral. On the other hand, NFR sounds pretty rough and uncooked, to me it feels like I'm listening to a bunch of demos. I also agree about Doin' Time, I actually like the song, but it feels completely out of place on NFR.

Don't agree with everything you both said, but this I agree with. But I just feel like Honeymoon, as a whole, feels more complete and much more polished than NFR.

They worship the very ground their feet touch and act as if they should win all the awards for just existing, and oh god, if someone other than them dare (especially Beyoncé) win an award they should give it back to them/her ASAP and be sorry for breathing the same air. Their popularity and public perception is weird af.

Honeymoon has legit the best production of all her albums. I don't hear any of the followings on Honeymoon: white noises, tinny/metallic/cheap piano notes, unequal voice recording AND mastering on any of its song, as well as flat and dry instrumentation. Which are all basically the very definition of the production of NFR. Honeymoon is literally her most spotless album production wise, near studio perfect sound.

Can you actually believe that we agree on one thing? Omg

I can see what you mean, but then again if you compare to Ultraviolence, which was also intentionally raw and real, it didn't end up sounding this messy.

Girl, that's def more desert/progressive rock than folky.

Some of yall keep saying that people are coming from the piano/acoustic driven sound she went for the vast majority of songs on the album, but I literally only see people (very much including me) criticizing the piss poor mastering and flawed production of the record. Get out of here with these sketchy claims. If you want to base your appreciation for an album based on what critics say instead of making your own opinion, well that's your prerogative. But looking back that's kind of stupid, Lana has released stellar albums that literally got obliterated by the very same critics that gave rave reviews to NFR. She literally released one of the, if one the most popular and influential album of the 2010s, that's literally still charting to this day. Now you're trying to act as if it aged like sour milk, while it actually still sounds fresh seven years later (Born To Die is that girl). I can't with you Jack Stroganoff stans, whew.

Agree, she said that she spends months mastering her records, but there are obvious flaws and amateur-ish mistakes that came through sonically... why does it sound so bad then? Yeah, but like most of the records doesn't even sound folky. NFR ain't no folk album.

So you mean to tell me that Lana (and her yes man Jack) intentionally made most of the instrumentals sound flat and dry, purposefully omitted bass on pretty much 99% of the album AND championed a very unequal, unpolished and uncooked approach for the production and mastering of the record? Hmmmmm sorry, but no. Both Ultraviolence and Honeymoon are miles ahead in terms of recording quality and/or soundscape. They are timeless classics. Brooklyn Baby, Shades of Cool, West Coast, Sad Girl, Pretty When You Cry, Honeymoon, Music To Watch Boys To, Terrence Loves You, Salvatore and The Blackest Day (and even Heroine and Get Free) obliterate the production and mastering of every single songs on NFR. I cannot actually believe that we are fighting over the production of this record when we have so much amazing music from Lana (as well as many of her contemporaries) to actually compare it too, like it's painfully obvious that the attention to detail to create a top notch atmospheric sound was totally lost on this record. I don't need anyone's "bias" over at Pitchfork to convince me otherwise, I know Lana has had better production days.

Exactly? Like all of a sudden we have to take into consideration what some a bunch of eDgY hIpStErS from Pitchfork actually thinks of Lana's music, give me a fucking break.

Here's an explicit list of Honeymoon songs that are better than Love Song: