steqhanos

I wanted to read through the entire thread before I posted, but went to work and came back to ever-multiplying pages... which actually makes me so happy  This album feels like such an event in a way the last couple haven't (no shade; I don't think COCC and BB were intended to be 'event' records), and there's always something so special in feeling this collective rise in energy when a record drops. Love y'all, love this place, and, my god, I love the music...
 
I don't think I can really formulate the full assessment I want to eventually write after only a couple listens, but I am really amazed at how quickly this record has found its way into my heart. There's nothing wrong with an album that grows on you (BB ), and sometimes, that experience is really rewarding, but there's something to be said for a record that immediately hits full-force -- even more remarkable when it's as dense as DYK... it's definitely a piece of music that rewards close listening. I achieved that with the help of some illegal substances that I can't help but feel that Lanita would endorse (GET HIGH! DROP ACID! NEVER DIE! NOT TONIGHT! LAKE PLACID!), of course, and it paid off to really become immersed in all the detail Lana and her incredible crew of collaborators worked into both the lyrics and the production. I love so much that Lana's still got the power to surprise me after so many years and so much deep-diving into her world, both the public and personal (get thee behind me, Lanalysis brainrot)
 
That being said, I think what's impressed me most in the day following my first listen is how well this album illuminates all her previous work. I didn't want to ruin the magic by relistening to the album while I was at work today, but I needed my Lana fix, so I bumped unreleased stuff all day long -- and it all just sounds even more genius after Ocean Blvd. From Sirens, which so clearly provides the root of all the plain-faced confessionalism throughout DYK (who knew My Momma was the Rosetta Stone all along!!!) to the laptop demos, where I hear so much of the sampling and playful experimentation that makes DYK sonically so interesting. It's all been there, all along, and it's a real marker of success that an album so far into her career could invite such fresh perspectives on work that's even as old as the May Jailer recordings. If anyone were ever in doubt that LDR has created a bona fide artistic legacy, this should be the record to convince them. I was already a believer, but, man, it feels like becoming a fan all over again...
 
Anyway, I'm going to hush for now before I start rattling off my stoned realization that the standard cover looks like an inversion of AKA's and all the implications I made up for that