Blue Banisters - Pre-Release Thread: OUT October 22nd, 2021

[prettywhenimhigh 49,452]

happy page 666

4 days!!

 

[sjatib 5,174]

Just now, ADDICTEDTOLANA said:

When I try to enter this page from my phone it says that the IP address is not found, but when in on my pc everything is fine. Has this ever happened to anyone?

 

 

Spoiler

Kinda the opposite here. I've been unable to enter from my PC for like two months ago. 

 

[Marius 12,856]

19 minutes ago, Thoth said:

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Does anyone know how and why there exists Beautiful Strings Mix? Who made it just right after the album leak?

 

On my way to get a virus while downloading that 

[Mer 62,562]

Spoiler

Looking over at me looking over achoo. 

 

[Let the Light In 18,865]

17 minutes ago, Honeyyoung said:

  Reveal hidden contents

beautiful w/ strings is the digital version, beautiful w/o strings is the CD version (allegedly)

 

Spoiler

Oh ok, thank you. Let's see what happens with the digital version. CD booklet only lists piano in the credits page, so that's indeed the CD version.

 

[Sugar Venom 9,658]

3 minutes ago, Kimi said:

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Ok i think it’s her second worst record, still very good but yeah. TB, BB & WW are career highlights and i wish she wrote entire album with that type of sound, growth and maturity. It sucks that she decided to add then next to tracks like Living Legend or Nectar Of The Gods. You can clearly tell that certain tracks are old Lana and i kinda hate that. It doesn’t feel cohesive. This almost feels like a mush up/compilation of 2 possible albums - old lana with her “fucking crazy” attitude tortured and boy crazy & current lana that’s calmer grown up and reflective. also much more poetic and lyrical. 

 

I thot we were supposed to love her because she’s wild, wild at heart?   I feel like her QFTC and part of the contention she addresses on this album is this same “I prefer ‘new’ ‘mature’ Lana” “I miss ‘old’ ‘classic’ Lana” thing… I think she just wants to be afforded the same freedom of expression we give pretty much every other artist, even if we don’t like what she has to say or it doesn’t align with our own values etc 

[Marius 12,856]

Spoiler

This Beautiful string version.  Girl you had one job to make it being an official one. 

 

[Kimi 227]

1 minute ago, Sugar Venom said:

I thot we were supposed to love her because she’s wild, wild at heart?   I feel like her QFTC and part of the contention she addresses on this album is this same “I prefer ‘new’ ‘mature’ Lana” “I miss ‘old’ ‘classic’ Lana” thing… I think she just wants to be afforded the same freedom of expression we give pretty much every other artist, even if we don’t like what she has to say or it doesn’t align with our own values etc 

im not saying she shouldn’t be wild, i’m saying that lyrically and melodically it feels like two albums smashed together and the solution would be to separate them

[NikoGo 61,517]

27 minutes ago, Thoth said:

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Does anyone know how and why there exists Beautiful Strings Mix? Who made it just right after the album leak?

 

according to BOZ on ATRL, the string mix is the ‘final’ mix but it’s a mess because the credits say that beautiful is piano only 

 

but we can’t really take credits for anything because both CB and NOTG are listed as having both piano and guitar and that’s also wrong 

 

edit: assuming this isn’t a FIILY incident and the streaming version is going to be different than physicals 

[The Stargirl Pinky 72,239]

Me tryna catch that wind at the rainbows end 

 

[Terrence Loves Me 72,892]

i cant get into if you lie down with me or violets for roses at all , even black bathing suit is kinda boring compared to the other songs in her discography

[prettywhenimhigh 49,452]

the way I'm getting more worried instead of more excited to hear this album 

[Glitter Boy 16,618]

Ugh, fuck it, here's my review:

Spoiler

Track by track

1. Text Book. 7/10. Production is great, and I like it lyrically but some lines could have been better phrased. Still don't feel this is the best opening song the album could have. It's also my least favourite single.
2. Blue Banisters. 9/10. Despite the name dropping and the tone of the songwriting, I really like this song. I love the melodies in the verses, particularly. And her voice is incredible here, as well as in many songs from this album (so I'll stop mentioning it). However, some more production would have been appreciated.
3. Arcadia. 10/10. Beautiful track. Perfect melodies, love the jazz-tinged production and the images the lyrics draw. Still unsure of its impact as a single, but on its own it's one of the best from the album.
4. The Trio - Interlude. 1/10. I mean, it's an interlude without her vocals, it just feels like it was copy-pasted there, for some reason. It feels so out of place within the record. The only song I would remove.
5. Black Bathing Suit. 8/10. It's an excellent song, I love it lyrically and has a very interesting production. However, the only thing that I would've changed is the second half of the chorus, as it feels too fast compared to the rest of the song. I'm okay with tempo changes, as long as they're more subtle (Text Book, Freak) or they have transitions (West Coast). And it feels more experimental than much of the material from this year, so it's a yes for me. Career highlight.
6. If You Lie Down with Me. 8/10. Amazing song. It definitely has some Ultraviolence vibes, which I'm here for. Incredible thing including an interpolation of On Our Way, and also the wink at Queen of Disaster with the ballerina line. The outro is good, but I think I would've liked a bridge instead.
7. Beautiful. 9/10. It's a grower. At first I felt it as one of the weakest, but the honesty and charm the lyrics exude really elevate the track. Also, the Strings Version is even better than the original. 
8. Violets for Roses. 10/10. Heavy contender for the best track in the album. It's just so beautifully crafted, even with the minimalistic production. The melodies are so beautiful, and unlike many people, I actually liked the line about the masks off. It doesn't mean she's against protection - it feels more like a desire for the pandemic to be over. Nostalgic. Career highlight.
9. Dealer. 9/10. As much as I would've liked Lana to sing a little more in the song, I think it's pretty balanced with her in the choruses and outro while Miles sings the whole verses. At first it felt weird with Lana screaming off, but I've grown to love it so much. Career highlight.
10. Thunder. 10/10. Another potential contender for my favourite. It's even better than the demo, and that's to say a lot. I love how the song grows after the first chorus, and the more polished production gives the track a great push. It has to be a single. Career highlight.
11. Wildflower Wildfire. 10/10. Guess I'm an everlasting WW stan. The song has impeccable melodies and the lyrics are great as well. The last minute is one of my favourite moments in the whole album. I like how artificial and crunchy the production is there. Career highlight.
12. Nectar of the Gods. 7/10. While this has been an amazing song since it leaked, it always felt underproduced. Considering its inclusion in the album made me expect a rework production wise (even if the vocal take would remain the same). Some electric guitar, piano, bass and of course drums would've made the song a lot bigger. Made my edit with that to picture how I'd like the song to be finished, and you can find it here in LB.
13. Living Legend. 8/10. This is a very good song, but some lyrics should've been improved. Particularly, the first verse. I always imagined this with some heavy real drums, but it ended up being the same leaked version so. At least we have the electric-guitar-vocoded vocals towards the end. And it's very catchy, that's why I gave it an 8 despite wishing it got reworked. (Same with Nectar.)
14. Cherry Blossom. 7/10. My least favourite song in the album, though it's a beautiful piano lullaby. I don't know, it's hard to give an objective review as we've had it for a while. I love how pure are her vocals here, though - guess it didn't need much of a rework as the song works better as minimalistic as it is.
15. Sweet Carolina. 8/10. I like this one, and is a great closing song, though it might be the least impressive of the new songs from the album. Still, a beautiful piece.

Overall

9/10.

This is definitely one of my favourite albums by Lana ever. It's a great effort, feels like it's been in the works for a while (conceptually) and it portraits many sides of Lana we've seen through the years. Maybe I would've changed a little the tracklist at some songs feel like could have had a better spot in the album, but overall I wouldn't change much. It really feels like Lana condensed different points of her story to tell through the years and arranged them in this album, reason why some could feel this more like a "collection of songs" and not "an album" (though I disagree). It has several career highlights in my opinion (BBS, Thunder, Dealer, VFR, WW).

Favourite songs: Thunder, Violets for Roses, Wildflower Wildfire.

Didn't like: The Trio - Interlude.

Would've changed: More production in Nectar of the Gods, Living Legend and Blue Banisters.

Suggested tracklist:

1. Blue Banisters
2. Text Book
3. Arcadia
4. Black Bathing Suit
5. Nectar of the Gods
6. If You Lie Down with Me
7. Beautiful
8. Violets for Roses
9. Fine China*
10. Thunder
11. Wildflower Wildfire
12. Dealer
13. Living Legend
14. Cherry Blossom
15. Sweet Carolina
16. Wild One*

*Considering both songs were at some point intended for inclusion in the album.

 

[Sugar Venom 9,658]

3 minutes ago, Kimi said:

im not saying she shouldn’t be wild, i’m saying that lyrically and melodically it feels like two albums smashed together and the solution would be to separate them

I get that, but I think it’s alright because this is supposed to be a synthesis of her career. Having them both contrast each other allows us to see her growth more clearly, and both are equally important parts of the story she wants to tell. That being said, it definitely would have been cool if she released it as like 2 related EPs but I think she just wanted out of her contract and they only needed one album left from her 

[GeminiLanaFan 49,408]

13 minutes ago, Niko Dealergo said:

according to BOZ on ATRL, the string mix is the ‘final’ mix but it’s a mess because the credits say that beautiful is piano only 

 

but we can’t really take credits for anything because both CB and NOTG are listed as having both piano and guitar and that’s also wrong 

 

edit: assuming this isn’t a FIILY incident and the streaming version is going to be different than physicals 

I fucking hope the string mix is for steaming. I really wanna avoid illegal downloads this time around lol 

[Dark Angel 203,621]

Spoiler

confession: i was never a big fan of nectar of the gods 

 

[Rust Dress 40,287]

Spoiler

this notg slander needs to land alll of you guys in jail

 

[GeminiLanaFan 49,408]

1 minute ago, Surf Noir said:

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confession: i was never a big fan of nectar of the gods 

 

Spoiler

Love Nectar but pretty much hate I Talk To Jesus, which is wildly unpopular here. I’m fucking glad she left that one out of BB. 

 

[lanascarlitos 828]

Has the HQ BB leaked?

[littleseashell 2,499]

9 minutes ago, Sugar Venom said:

I get that, but I think it’s alright because this is supposed to be a synthesis of her career. Having them both contrast each other allows us to see her growth more clearly, and both are equally important parts of the story she wants to tell. That being said, it definitely would have been cool if she released it as like 2 related EPs but I think she just wanted out of her contract and they only needed one album left from her 

She did also say that this album is about what it was like, and how it is now, so I think this sound was actually intentional on her part aside from the obligation of the contract