Heartlines

I can't stop listening to Beautiful, I think at this moment it is my favorite song. It makes me feel... comfortably sad  

The way critics don't give this album a 9-10/10 rating literally proves that this is an amazing LDR album 

I've said a lot of this already in the pre-release under spoilers but here are my expanded thoughts now that I've really had time to absorb the album. Sorry it's so long, just wanted to get all my thoughts down somewhere!
 
Overall I think it's really spectacular, one of her best, though I find it very difficult to rank her albums because they are all so special and serve such specific purposes in her overall discography. This album manages to be deeply personal and fascinating, sad and funny, angry yet deeply loving. It is such a beautiful portrait of the various sides of Lana, and I think she absolutely succeeded in telling us her story the way that she wanted to. 
 
Text Book is a beautiful opening. She gets right to it with a song that opens the door to a ton of issues that she'll explore on the album. Gorgeous in every way, and the outro gives me complete chills.
 
Arcadia is a magical work of genius. The way she starts things so simple and cute with this patriotic sound before slowly revealing that it's actually a take-down of America, and a sad realization that despite the deep connection she's formed to it, she has to leave for something better, is honestly just incredible songwriting.
 
Interlude - The Trio is out of place for some people, but I think it fits perfectly. After the gentleness of the first three tracks, this interlude rings the alarm bells and tells us that we better be paying attention because a lot is simmering beneath the surface of this album. It's a great moment that picks up the pace and demands focus before leading into the standout track of the album.
 
Black Bathing Suit might be the most important song of Lana's career. It's one of the most fascinating and vulnerable songs ever that invites you right into her psyche as she reflects on a very complicated existence. She manages to blend all over her previous sounds into one song, with unexpected tempo shifts that don't click on the first listen, but once they do, they could not be more perfect. The outro is stunningly chaotic and even though she's got the last laugh, you can really feel the emotional damage that the hate she receives causes by the way she chooses to let the song spiral out of control in those final moments. This song is just devastating and brilliant, like she mocks the haters while also revealing the pain that they cause. One of my favourite songs ever, and complete proof that Lana is so much more than a musician. She is truly an artist and is willing to lay it all on the table and experiment with her sounds, her words, and her performance, to create something so unique and powerful.
 
If You Lay Down With Me is such a great song to come next, giving us this absolutely beautiful and classic Lana vibe, while also feeling so fresh. The lyrics are adorable and warm and truly make me want to spin around the room like a ballerina super high. The instrumental outro is a highlight of the whole album.
 
Beautiful is so special. It didn't make as strong of an impression as some of the other tracks at first but the more you hear it the more it breaks your heart. The piano raindrops are so gorgeous, and the sentiment behind this song is extremely important. She's speaking to all of us and asking us to stop trying to change who she is as an artist. She's never going to change for us, nor should she ever need to.
 
Violets For Roses expands on the themes explored in Beautiful. It wasn't one of my immediate favourites but the more that I listen the more addictive it becomes. Simple and beautiful and very classic Lana sounding, with a melody that's to die for, especially in the chorus.
 
Dealer is an absolute knock out. Miles sounds great but Lana is obviously the real star here by a long shot. It's a complete thrill to hear her on this track. I understand people wishing that she sang the whole thing, but I think it works really well as a duet, and Miles' verses only make us long for Lana's return, which makes her moments even more rewarding.
 
Thunder is amazing. I loved the original, I love this version too, and think it overall suits the album better. As many of you have said, the progression is excellent and the result is less repetitive than the song once was. She could have maybe kept a couple of the previous details to allow the song to build to something even rockier, but it's still wonderful as is.
 
Wildflower Wildfire is another standout and almost like an initial climax of the album for me. The lyrics are some of her best and I absolutely love the way the song builds with her powerful declaration to be a wildflower, not a wildfire, even if it's a promise that can't last.
 
Nectar of the Gods has always been one of my favourite unreleased. The stark guitar and vulnerable lyrics are out of this world gorgeous, and the final line is one of the most devastating moments on the album. It's like she needs the fire that she's abandoned in the last song after all, and by trying to tame herself, the flame that keeps her alive has gone out.
 
Living Legend has also always been a favourite, and with its placement on this album, it's what brings her back to life. She struggles with her guilt and complex feelings, while admiring someone of inspiration to her, and comes to the realization that she's always been stuck between heaven and hell and she's tired of it. I think realizing these things about yourself helps lead to acceptance, which leads to healing. The electric guitar vocals are another highlight of the album and let her bring that burning passion back to the forefront.
 
Cherry Blossom is so delicate and beautiful. After she goes through this journey of ups and downs through her life, to end on a touching lullaby to her future child, or to anyone who needs her, is really moving. The sentiment in this song is so important and it feels like a lesson that she's really learned through all her hardships, which leads us beautifully to the end of the album.
 
Sweet Carolina is surely Lana's warmest and most adorable song ever. I love everything about it and it closes the album so well. The title track so early in the album shows her sister coming to save her, and here Lana returns to the favour with this beautiful love letter, assuring her (and us) that she'll always be there, and when sadness comes we can always dance away the blues.
 
10/10
 

 

the way that BB is THAT butch. this album is some of her best work what the hell?  the way she never misses and gets better and better with each record i actually collapsed last night listening to this 
this album could SAVE LIVES!!! CHANGE LIVES.
 
i literally can’t even rank this album but my faves are: BBS, Dealer, violets for roses, WFWF, Thunder, Text book and Sweet carolina
 

This album really caught me off guard. I already said last night (in the midst of a breakdown bc my boyfriend said some really mean shit to me but Lana was there to comfort me with BB <3) I didn't expect it to be this good  I'm so content with this record! It's very cohesive imo, something I thought wasn't going to be the case at all. This is my little review (faves in bold):
 
Text Book: 8/10. Great opening track IMO. Only thing I still don't like is the BLM reference, feels kinda out of place and a little performative (don't come for me please, I know Lana is not a performative artist but it comes across as that because with QFTC and the accusations of being racist, seems like it's somehow "forced"? idk)
Blue Banisters: 10/10. Can't think of a better title track, this song is the embodiment of Lana Del Rey. The piano at the end makes me weep.
Arcadia: 9/10. Great melody. Loved both videos. Only thing I don't like is the mixing, in the chorus my ears hurt a little bit lol
Interlude: 3/10. Feels out of place, it's good as the ending to Arcadia's og video, not so much in the album, it doesn't go anywhere, feels pointless (I have to admit tho if I didn't know Clay had anything to do with this, I'd probably like it a bit more lol)
BBS: 10/10. UV vibes to the maximum. Love the chorus and ending so much. Also love the West Coast similarities (different tempos coming and going throughtout the song)
IFLDWM: 9/10. More UV vibes. Love it! Only thing I don't like is the "muffled" sound. Idk if it's because it's an older song but her voice is not so clear at times.
Beautiful: 5/10. Don't really like it. Still a good song but a skip for me.
Violets for Roses: 5/10. Don't like it either. Not a bad song but a skip for me. I like the message tho.
Dealer. 10/10. Fucking explosive. Love the tempo, their voices sound so hot god. The outro makes me wet. I hope Lana explores more of this type of sound in the future.
Thunder: 10/10. I already loved the demo but this has more of a Lana - Blue Banisters era sound, it goes so well with the rest of the album. A fucking masterpiece. Creepy - heavenly violins and backing vocals really did that!
WW: 10/10. Currently a skip because it's very relatable to me and it makes me cry everytime I hear it, and I can't cry everywhere I go lmao. A necessary and amazing song, helps the general public and us to understand where Lana is coming from and why she is the way she is sometimes.
NOTG: 8/10. A classic, good song from Lana. I like it ever since it leaked. Only thing I don't like is she didn't rework it. A few more instruments would have done wonders to this amazing, timeless record.
Living Legend: 9/10. Same as NOTG. Thank god she left the wawawas! One of my fave unnowreleased songs! 
Cherry Blossom: 9/10. Sweet, nurturing, lovely ballad. I understand why she put it in BB. Goes great with the closing track. A few more instruments would have done wonders to this one too! I listened to the unrealeased so much that I'm already a bit bored with it but I still don't skip it because I like that it's followed by SC.
Sweet Carolina: 10/10. One of her best closers. Some love it, some hate the "crypto forever, fuck you kevin" line. I personally love it, it's fun and sounds great with the little piano in the background. So Lana. Love the melody, simplicity and purity of the message.
 
Conclusion: one of my favorite records from Lana. I really needed this at this point in my life. I thank god for Lana and for music.

I am just so obsessed with this record – it is arranged so beautifully, it is so classic in feeling, it has sophistication, grace, and maturity. The lyrics are perfect all-around. Everything I love about an album. I imagine it will become my absolute favourite.  

THiSSSSSSSSS TEAAAAA!!!! 
 
who gives a sh*t what they think... after all they trashed BTD and 10 years later , they are re correcting scores and apologizing for not seeing the greatness / authenticity back then.... 
 
Kate Bush albums are gold and have low ratings , it almost makes it better. I love our sad girl bad girl so much! 

I just saw a post about all the critics’ ratings and honestly who truly cares what they say or think? I feel like in most cases, the best albums don’t get rated very high. Fuck the critics, we’re fucking laughing at them 
 
 
Loving this album, the day is grey and gloomy where I am and it matches the album perfectly. Cherry blossom could’ve been an email though  but it’s cute anyway.
 
 
Chemtrails was the bread they bring u at restaurants as the appetizer before the actual main course (BB) 
 

I’m truly screeching black bathing suit is dragging me by the wig. 
 
mail me when you get the blues caught me off guard though 

I'm on my 3rd listen now and I love it so much . I can't even decide which song is my favorite or my least favorite because they're all so good. I will say VFR hit me in a way I wasn't expecting, that one is definitely one of my favorites. BBS is chaotic and I love it for that, right when the bird sounds started happening I was like okay I already love it . Love Lana's yelling in Dealer, the I gave you all my money gave you all my money I don't wanna liiiiive is stuck in my head. Thunder sounds beautiful especially the beginning. I love how the song builds up. 
 
Living Legend - wow I love when she mimics the guitar. Gives me chills. 
 
Nectar of the Gods - absolutely beautiful too. Very catchy.
 
Cherry Blossom - I didn't remember how the song sounded because I listened to it when it leaked however long ago, but once it started I remembered. Such a sweet sounding lullaby, her voice is beautiful and it fits right next to Sweet Carolina.
 
Sweet Carolina - My sister in law is expecting her first baby, so when I first heard this I thought of her. Made me tear up especially the 2nd listen, such a beautiful song for Chuck. Lana's voice is beautiful. 

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I suck at writing reviews for songs and I didn't even do all of them . I'm so overwhelmed but in a good way, I just love this album from start to finish. I was worried it wouldn't flow together perfectly based on what people said but I love the placement of the songs. For me the order is perfect. Where am I gonna place this along with the rest of her work? No idea...I need more time with it to decide where it would go. But it's definitely one of my favorite albums. 
 
The only negative I'll say is..Spotify wtf? Sorry if people have been complaining about it and I sound repetitive, haven't been able to read through all the posts, but the quality isn't so good there. I listened on Youtube and Apple Music (the previews) and this problem seems to only be on Spotify. Hopefully it gets fixed because that's where I listen to her at. I might switch to Apple Music when I want to listen to her with headphones because the Spotify one hurts my ears. 
 
 

I'm on my 3rd listen now and I love it so much . I can't even decide which song is my favorite or my least favorite because they're all so good. I will say VFR hit me in a way I wasn't expecting, that one is definitely one of my favorites. BBS is chaotic and I love it for that, right when the bird sounds started happening I was like okay I already love it . Love Lana's yelling in Dealer, the I gave you all my money gave you all my money I don't wanna liiiiive is stuck in my head. Thunder sounds beautiful especially the beginning. I love how the song builds up. 
 
Living Legend - wow I love when she mimics the guitar. Gives me chills. 
 
Nectar of the Gods - absolutely beautiful too. Very catchy.
 
Cherry Blossom - I didn't remember how the song sounded because I listened to it when it leaked however long ago, but once it started I remembered. Such a sweet sounding lullaby, her voice is beautiful and it fits right next to Sweet Carolina.
 
Sweet Carolina - My sister in law is expecting her first baby, so when I first heard this I thought of her. Made me tear up especially the 2nd listen, such a beautiful song for Chuck. Lana's voice is beautiful. 

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I suck at writing reviews for songs and I didn't even do all of them . I'm so overwhelmed but in a good way, I just love this album from start to finish. I was worried it wouldn't flow together perfectly based on what people said but I love the placement of the songs. For me the order is perfect. Where am I gonna place this along with the rest of her work? No idea...I need more time with it to decide where it would go. But it's definitely one of my favorite albums. 
 
The only negative I'll say is..Spotify wtf? Sorry if people have been complaining about it and I sound repetitive, haven't been able to read through all the posts, but the quality isn't so good there. I listened on Youtube and Apple Music (the previews) and this problem seems to only be on Spotify. Hopefully it gets fixed because that's where I listen to her at. I might switch to Apple Music when I want to listen to her with headphones because the Spotify one hurts my ears. 
 
 

I don't want to listen on Apple Music because my listens won't count for my Spotify Wrapped, but the quality there is so much better
 
I really hope they fix this soon, but for some reason I don't think her team even knows they screwed up

beautiful's intro literally looks like this
 

thank you! the chipping is definitely there so annoying

Here's my full, in-depth Blue Banisters review (I put it in a spoiler tag because it's kind of lengthy). PItchfork has nothing on me 
 

queen 

Ok here's the deal for the quality issues. I made a survey with different headphones with ranging quality, and also different streaming services.
 
Spotify version is just awful with every headphone. No matter what quality option you choose there's chipping all over the album. The better quality the headphone is the more distinguished the sound is and the more noticable and unbearable the chipping is. With lower quality headphones, chipping is still there but the layers are more compressed so you don't notice it that much.
 
So if we make comparison between services: Apple Music > Youtube Music > Spotify = Standard Youtube Video
 
So if you are listening to Spotify and hearing awful and disturbing chipping noises, don't worry there's nothing wrong with your headphones. I hope they fix spotify soon but I doubt it.

BBS OUTRO

Spotify’s quality is awful, I’m having my second listen through the iTunes version I bought and it’s so much better!

I'm starting my 4th listen right now..I'm addicted 

I'm sure the kevin line was alana's idea  she said before she "helped" with the lyrics
 
edit: @That Venice Bitch she reposted your artwork omg

This album has no skips for me. Love all the songs. I do hope they fix the sound issues on Spotify though. I don’t like using Apple Music that much. 

Not the Strogonoff slander when Happiness is a Butterfly is a piano driven ballad which happens to be one of her best songs ever 

I'm starting my 4th listen right now..I'm addicted