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Ultraviolence Reviews: 74 Metascore (DISCUSS REVIEWS ONLY)

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I hope this will not count on metacritic

 

Lana Del Rey: Ultraviolence – review

By Ludovic Hunter-Tilney

Singer shifts the terms of reference from old-fashioned hip-hop to a hazy dream of 1960s orchestral pop

OBorn to Die, Lana Del Rey styled herself as an old-fashioned leading lady for the hip-hop generation, a “gangsta Nancy Sinatra” in her words, all heavy-lidded voice, dramatic orchestrations and unhurried trip-hop beats. It was a bravura makeover.

But the singer who serenaded a bad boy in “Blue Jeans” with the words, “You were sorta punk rock, I grew up on hip-hop,” shifts the terms of reference on the follow-up. “Brooklyn Baby” finds her “churning out novels like beat poetry on amphetamines”, listening to her “rare jazz collection” and singing “like Lou Reed” in a guitarist-boyfriend’s band; her voice is dreamy and breathy, the precise opposite of Reed, while the music is a hazy dream of 1960s orchestral pop.

The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach is the producer, a team-up that bears other fruits too. “Cruel World” revives the “cowboy psychedelia” of Nancy Sinatra collaborator Lee Hazelwood while “Ultraviolence” finds Del Rey making languid use of 1960s girl group The Crystals’ controversial line: “He hit me and it felt like a kiss.”

Despite her self-depiction as victim, Del Rey is too much of a presence to play ingénue to anyone’s Svengali, her vocals going from sleepy murmurs to the Goldfrapp-style swoops of “Shades of Cool”. But a slow pace and lack of beats cause Ultraviolence to run adrift in its second half, ending with Del Rey warbling an unconvincing vibrato in “The Other Woman”, miscast as just another retro-torch singer.

Lana Del Rey

Ultraviolence

(Polydor)

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which one is this? Not counted on MC :) 

 

THIS is the list of reviewers counted: 

Music The 405

All Music Guide

Absolute Punk

Alternative Press*

American Songwriter

Austin Chronicle

Billboard

Blurt

Boston Globe

Chicago Tribune

Clash Music

Classic Rock*

CMJ

Cokemachineglow.com

Consequence of Sound

Country Weekly

Delusions of Adequacy

DJ Booth

Drowned In Sound

Dusted Magazine

Entertainment Weekly

Exclaim

Fact Magazine (UK)

The Fly (UK)

Filter*

The Guardian

HipHopDX

The Independent (UK)

Kerrang!*

The Line of Best Fit

Los Angeles Times

Mojo*

Mixmag

musicOMH.com

New Musical Express

New York Daily News

The New York Times

No Ripcord

NOW Magazine (Toronto)

The Observer

Okay Player

One Thirty BPM

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Paste Magazine

The Phoenix (Boston)

Pitchfork

Pop Matters

Pretty Much Amazing

Punk News.org

Q Magazine*

The Quietus

Record Collector

Resident Advisor

Revolver*

Rock Sound

Rolling Stone

Slant Magazine

The Source *

Spin*

Sputnikmusic

The Telegraph (UK)

This is Fake DIY

Tiny Mix Tapes

Uncut*

Under The Radar

Urb*

The Wire*

XLR8

XXL  

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James Reed, Boston Globe reviewer: — James Reed (@GlobeJamesReed) https://twitter.com/GlobeJamesReed/statuses/477536463861452800[/indent]

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Haven't said this in a while: Lana Del Rey has left me awestruck. Her new album, "Ultraviolence," is staggeringly good.
— James Reed (@GlobeJamesReed) https://twitter.com/GlobeJamesReed/statuses/477536463861452800

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A lot of these reviews seem to be ripping the lyrics of this album to shreds but then giving it a decent overall rating, which I knew would happen. People are afraid of praising the work because of the backlash they'll receive by today's super-feminists. But again, the album is called Ultraviolence - the title alone should tell you that it's not going to be a happy, perfect album.

 

The good part about this is that the critics are actually impressed enough by the beautiful sound and vocal delivery that it counteracts any negative effects of the lyrics.


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