Ultraviolence - Post-Release Discussion Thread + Poll

[RetroSound 395]

 

I just noticed I haven't listened to the album in full since June 17th  ! Sadly I don't want to play this record on repeat like I did with Born To Die. It's too monotonous.

To answer the poll, my favorite songs are : Shades Of Cool, Brooklyn Baby, Money Power Glory & Old Money!

[DominicMars 1,764]

Okay, the tracks I do not like have dwindled down to PWYC, CW, and MPG. The restt of the tracks are solid, imo

[larina 682]

Ultraviolence, Brooklyn Baby, Florida Kilos and Flipside. I can't choose just one.

[leaked_version 10,499]

Ok, it took me some time to give my final judgement and the never ending comparisons to BTD & P. I may be not as eloquent as some posters here, but I will give it a shot. 

 

Not that it really matters cause this place has become pretty dead, but hey...

 

Just like on BTD, we have some standouts on UV that strike me after a few listens: Shades of Cool, Brooklyn Baby and West Coast. I think these three tracks along with The Other Woman execute at the very best what she was going for with this album: a soft mood, sad but relaxed, laid-back record. Like portaying herself and her lovers from a distance, observing. 

 

The sad thing about this album is that you can actually hear, that she really had trouble writing it and putting it all together. She has talked about it in several interviews that she had basically stopped writing, because she had nothing to write about, she felt numb and defeated by everything going on around her. 

Some people on here and other places blame the production of Dan Auerbach, but the production is actually not the main issue here, it's Lana's songwriting and her lack of a vision for this album.

Something that also doesn't play into her cards is that with a rock and jazzy sound it is even more difficult to cover up  the lack of ideas in terms of songwriting. With hip hop beats, electronica and strings you can at least vaccum it in a nice way. 

Regardless of the flaws on BTD, you could close your eyes and you had all the songs almost like a movie lined up in front of your eyes, playing and evolving. UV doesn't do that. It feels like she didn't know where to go with it. 

 

Lana is still a sad potato, she still writes songs about the men she loves and how she will do anything to make their relationship work while wearing her red dress and being a mess and so on....

The problem is: we have all heard it before and it was pretty well executed, we don't need more semi-likeable versions of it like on Cruel World which draggs forever and Sad Girl or Pretty When You Cry. Lana just has not improved when structuring a song, not adding shifts and breaks (except for West Coast).

 

She has talked many times about how she always reads the same books & poems, watches the same movies and listens to the same music. I am just wondering how she has managed to write 200 and more songs while always being exposed to the same stuff. Maybe after this record, she should turn to something new & fresh. 

 

What I miss is the actual fun in Lana's music. Despite an album called Born To Die, I could always sense some joy and even a sense of humour in her music during the most time. Only in Brooklyn Baby she manages to do it on UV. Songs like MPG and FMWUTTT are supposed to be sarcastic and powerful, but they sound uninspired, flat and unfinished. 

If she wanted to be sarcastic & angry then turn it up, girl! Don't tone it down.

 

What also bugs me about this era is her complete absence of interesting visuals. Nobody can tell me that the videos so far have been great, not even the best one for SOC. She seems so desinterested and bored, you sometimes fear she will fall asleep to her own music in her own video. 

 

This lack of vision, interest and care leaves us, the fans, wondering and unsatisfyied. 

 

There will be always people on here who will say: OMG, she is an indie queen and she is rock now and so much more mature than before. Sadly, she is not. She has just chosen another direction for her music, which as I stated before doesn't really compliment her lack of ideas for this album.

 

I grew up listenting to Tori Amos and PJ Harvey. I know how great artists can make alternative music sound, how they work with song structures, never allowing the music to be predictable and flat and how much they care about different layers in their music. 

 

Maybe she actually has found her sound on the previous record, not executed at the very best by Haynie for sure, but maybe it's something that suits her better than trying to be an artist she is not or simply lacks the musicality to get there. 

[BlueJeans 2,608]

I agree with pretty much everything you wrote !! I don't know if she wasn't really inspired for her lyrics (I feel it's pretty much a step back from her previous work but that doesn't necessarily mean it's less inspired). However, she did say, as you wrote, that she felt her muse was being fickle and stuff .. 

It's no secret, I'm a hardcore BTD-Paradise fan, because of the themes, the production (yes, there I said ) and the visuals ... It was a complete and strong package for me, and I was sold. 

 

I feel that she got so hurt by the backlash she received that she thought "Ok they think I'm fake.." and so she went for a more "indie, rockish, underground" sound to be more "real" (Deliberately or not, who knows). I think she's always been inspired by rockers but she isn't one. 

 

I think West Coast and Brooklyn Baby are two standouts of the album. Ultraviolence was what I wanted to hear, it has that "Paradise" sound, imo. Old Money is beautiful. Florida Kilos is a great tune, but she didn't include it in the original tracklist so yeah. But I love it, nonetheless ! The rest is filled with songs I never listen to anymore or very rarely ... 

 

Whereas I still listen to BTD/P daily almost in their entirety. But that's just personal taste.

 

I also agree with you on the visuals. To me, Lana is a singer AND a music video creator, but she didn't show it during this era yet.

 

If she goes back to BTD/P, AKA, or Unreleased type songs, or if she goes any another route for that matter, I think I'll like the album more, thinking it was sort of an experiment. 

[leaked_version 10,499]

I agree with pretty much everything you wrote !! I don't know if she wasn't really inspired for her lyrics (I feel it's pretty much a step back from her previous work but that doesn't necessarily mean it's less inspired). However, she did say, as you wrote, that she felt her muse was being fickle and stuff .. 

It's no secret, I'm a hardcore BTD-Paradise fan, because of the themes, the production (yes, there I said ) and the visuals ... It was a complete and strong package for me, and I was sold. 

 

I feel that she got so hurt by the backlash she received that she thought "Ok they think I'm fake.." and so she went for a more "indie, rockish, underground" sound to be more "real" (Deliberately or not, who knows). I think she's always been inspired by rockers but she isn't one. 

 

I think West Coast and Brooklyn Baby are two standouts of the album. Ultraviolence was what I wanted to hear, it has that "Paradise" sound, imo. Old Money is beautiful. Florida Kilos is a great tune, but she didn't include it in the original tracklist so yeah. But I love it, nonetheless ! The rest is filled with songs I never listen to anymore or very rarely ... 

 

Whereas I still listen to BTD/P daily almost in their entirety. But that's just personal taste.

 

I also agree with you on the visuals. To me, Lana is a singer AND a music video creator, but she didn't show it during this era yet.

 

If she goes back to BTD/P, AKA, or Unreleased type songs, or if she goes any another route for that matter, I think I'll like the album more, thinking it was sort of an experiment. 

What I really miss is her being fun. It really worries me that she suffers from depression, so I wish her all the best.

I also hope she finds joy again in what she is doing. I am really, really struggeling to find any indication that she is currently enjoying her music.

 

Anybody remembers when Dan Auerbach said in that one radio interview that Ultraviolence is "a sonic monster" ? LMAO. Where is that sonic monster, Dan?

And Lana claiming she was dancing to the record? Sorry, but how do you actually dance to this record?

What really would have worked in terms of sound would have been a song like "Lonely Boy" for a single or something.

On a sidenote: that video did cost em probably 50 bucks or so with the black guy dancing and lipping, but damn it was so effective. Compare that to the UV videos so far, well...

[BlueJeans 2,608]

 

And Lana claiming she was dancing to the record? Sorry, but how do you actually dance to this record?

 

 

Easy ... 

 

 

(Sorry if it's too big, if it is, I'll edit my post !)

[thatsomason 1,202]

My vinyl came ripped > right where it says UV on the side is torn I was so mad but I couldn't do anything about it bc it already took like 3 weeks to arrive so I didn't gaf but ugh that's so irritating. Also did anyone's vinyls have writing carved in them? Like on side A on the inner section that has no audio it says "jdavis" ????

[xr2 16]

I just love the direction she went to with this album musically. The 'rockier' sound suits her better imo with the style she has as person and music. i think there is a lot of protential for her if she continues with the rockier elements. Ultraviolence is for me a great album, but it does mis great standouts. For me the album Born to Die has more standouts  with songs like Born to Die and Dark Paradise, but also more songs that i find average. The songs million dollar man (allthough i like the demo version) and lolita are songs for me that i would skip. The album Ultraviolence is more stable, it doesn't really have highlights for me, but also no bad songs. I have to say that i had first some complications with the song Money Power Glory, i just couldn't get into it, but now i like it. To pick a favourite of the album is also hard for me. I think it would be West Coast, but i also like Fmwuttt, Sad Girl, pwyc and Flipside i think a little more than the other songs. Which is maybe crazy, because i have read a lot that sad girl and pwyc were often the least favourite for people.  

I have to agree with the opinion that the lyrics could have been better. There is not really a song where i can relate to apart from some lines of flipside. Well i can make a story of that song that is about my life as well. Born to die and even Kill Kill had that much more. Also a shame with the promotion.

But overall i like the 'new' style she put out with this album. Hopefully she continues with this style, because i think she can do much more with it.

 

[Limelight 4,709]

UV is still slaying me. The album might be too much to listen in one sitting (not because it's bad but because all the songs together become 'heavy'). There is not a single track I dislike on the album. I always keep going back to MPG, FMWUTTT, ITH, BB, Black Beauty and SoC and WC ( half of the album lol)

[PARADIXO 33,104]

WOW. It's been almost three months. I listen to Ultraviolence daily, I'm still obsessed with it. I really really really like it. It's way better than Born to Die in so many ways. I just don't know why you all hate it. Well, I do understand why you say it's "boring" or "too heavy", but it doesn't bother me at all. It's not a boring album to me. Sad Girl sounds like a party song to me lmaoooo, I get crazy every time I listen to it. Pretty When You Cry, Sad Girl, West Coast, Flipside, Ultraviolence... those are my favorite songs. The only track I just don't love is Brooklyn Baby. That's the only boring song, imo.

[HEARTCORE 18,971]

I listen to at least one song from the album every day. As mentioned before, the album is too heavy for repeated daily listening, so I prefer just having one song to listen to (usually Ultraviolence, West Coast, Florida Kilos or Guns and Roses).

[Limelight 4,709]

I take back what I said. I listened to the album twice yesterday xd.I think it depends on my mood.

[Thunder Revenant 20,977]

I still listen a lot to the album. I think when you compare it to the months after the BtD release, it's quite equal in both "full album" and "single tracks" listening.

[Rem 2,392]

Should I write a post detailing how i think this is inferior to Born To Die? 

 

The lyrics, vocal performance, and the production are all a step back from BTD/Paradise.

[GodBlessMe 2,141]

Should I write a post detailing how i think this is inferior to Born To Die? 

 

The lyrics, vocal performance, and the production are all a step back from BTD/Paradise.

[Thunder Revenant 20,977]

Should I write a post detailing how i think this is inferior to Born To Die? 

 

The lyrics, vocal performance, and the production are all a step back from BTD/Paradise.

If you were an album, everyone would hate you for being repetitive as f*ck

[xr2 16]

Should I write a post detailing how i think this is inferior to Born To Die? 

 

The lyrics, vocal performance, and the production are all a step back from BTD/Paradise.

 

yes i'm interested

 

[Pluto 1,581]

My vinyl came ripped > right where it says UV on the side is torn I was so mad but I couldn't do anything about it bc it already took like 3 weeks to arrive so I didn't gaf but ugh that's so irritating. Also did anyone's vinyls have writing carved in them? Like on side A on the inner section that has no audio it says "jdavis" ????

Most vinyl records come with inscriptions on the run out grooves, in the 70's and such sometimes the artists would leave messages there. Nowadays it's usually someone's name, like the mastering engineer or something. 

[whitman 1,287]

Three months now since the released of the album and after repeatedly listening I can definitely say that is one of my favorites album of the year. It's devastating, fun, heartbreaking, ironic, full of anger and resentments and nostalgic. Her vocal delivery for me in unbelievable good and flexible, the album is full of memorable moments ( like the mid-tempo change of West Coast, to the powerful chorus of MPG and Shades of Cool, that heartbreaking interpretation of Pretty when you Cry). Anyway, I felt so surprised by how good this album I didn't expect this at all - she could just release the same thing as BtD and it would be as successful but she decided to take risk and do something greater artistically and just this simple fact makes me love this album even more.

 

 

Ps: Also I have friend who writes reviews for a brazilian indie music blog and he loved it and a lot of my friends who kinda hated Lana started to actually enjoy her music and this made me really happy. This album definitely changed the things for her.