THE *HONEYMOON* ERA

[cashcomesquick 5,379]

HM is her best major label album by a nose over UV.* HM & 24 are fucking masterpieces. GKIT, "Salvatore", & TBD are fantastic, and MTWBT & "Freak" have moments of sheer brilliance. I do not understand the underappreciation. I can only chalk it up to y'all being pace queens. Or being focused more on promotion or videos than the music itself.

 

*The songs on BTD had the potential to be, but the overproduction ruined it.

 

"Or being focused more on promotion or videos than the music itself" - that's definitely the reason! It's pretty common to read people saying they didn't like HM because of the lack of visuals.

Still a mystery to me

[PARADIXO 31,618]

The HBTB was amazing. I fucking love the record and Terrence Loves You is a masterpiece. Also the festival tour was the best thing ever.

[Veinsineon 70,660]

ew no

who asked?

[HunterSThompson 4,644]

For me, HM produced some of my favorite Lana songs to date (The Blackest Day is in my top 5). I really loved the juxtaposition of the "muddy trap" songs and the cinematic ones. This more or less felt like a little art project she did rather than an era, if anyone gets what I mean. The only songs I didn't like were the last three songs, esp. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood. Swan Song was good (unpopular opinion, I know) and 24 was cool but I never go back to listen to it. 

 

This record is very much a mood record so I don't listen to it often, but when I do, it's glorious 

Also Chuck/Neil had a few beautiful photos from this era (minus the cover)

[LynnLana 24]

I get why fans got frustrated by how low-key and uneventful Honeymoon era was. But when I look at the whole picture of Lana's career so far, I think I understand why it was the way it was. Born To Die was her mainstream breakthrough era, and it was burdened by controversies, ridiculous backlash and challenges that Lana was not quite ready for. Ultraviolence era happened during extensive tour (the first big tour in her life, and she's not exactly confident performer, so it couldn't be easy for her), also during fall-out of her relationship with Barrie. You could tell by reading her interviews she wasn't in a good state of mind most of the time, which resulted in controversial quotes, more backlash, more stress for Lana. After all of this she needed some rest, and Honeymoon, I think, was her period of rest. Quiet, slow-paced, completely on her own terms. She could easily just disappear from public eye for 2 or 3 years, like some musicians do (and there's nothing wrong with that), but thankfully Lana is prolific writer, so she gave us the album. I see Honeymoon as her phase of pure self-indulgence - no chasing commercial success like BTD, no compromising with new colloborators live UV, just recording what she needed for herself, a bunch of songs she could drive or swim to.

And while I wouldn't say it topped UV (don't think anything by Lana will ever top UV for me), I really like Honeymoon. It's perfect background to warm sunny day of early autumn, it helps soothing headaches (speaking from experience), it always works when I want to get my mind into creative mode. The Blackest Day is stil a career highlight in my eyes, God Knows I Tried and Terrance Loves You get me emotional, Religion is soothing and comfortable, Honeymoon is pretty and vaguely disturbing, Music to Watch Boys To and Salvatore have wonderful instrumentals. Lana's vocals are more siren-like than ever, though I'll admit sometimes I miss more emotional, firey delivery. Lyrics could be stronger, yes, and at some points they walk thin line between "tongue-in-cheek" and unbearably cheesy. But I kinda accepted at this point that most of Lana's songs have combination of good and cringey/lazy lines, that's just the way it is.

Beyond the album, other stuff is just not that important. The only serious disappointment is zero decently recorded performances. Music videos are whatever, I prefer building my own visuals to her songs in my mind anyway. Interviews were cute. Maybe Lana made the right decision when she started sitting down for interviews only with carefully chosen persons.

Anyway it looks like she wants to be more active and vocal this era, so her period of rest must be over.

[evalionisameme 13,516]

I love all of her albums except her folk albums such as sirens,young like me to me they were poor in instrumentation and lyrically dull honeymoon will always have a place in my heart for its grand production and at its heart like Lana said it's a mood album

[TROPICUM 6,406]

Imo if she would have been more active in the whole era, I think it wouldn't get that much hate because in fact, the album is beautiful in so many ways.

 

But well   sis Honeymoon died alone. 

[evalionisameme 13,516]

Imo if she would have been more active in the whole era, I think it wouldn't get that much hate because in fact, the album is beautiful in so many ways.

 

But well   sis Honeymoon died alone.

 

it makes me sad that she was really lazy with it I don't think she even liked it she reused uv visuals for half of it and didn't even bother promoting at all lol

[derangedmanic 150]

I can't decide between HM or first 7 tracks of UV, it depends on my mood honestly. However there's no doubt that HM was her most cohesive and I'm glad it was sort of low-key promotion wise.

 

I detested HBTB when it came out but I appreciate its place in the album now. Placing HBTB straight after GKIT helped a lot - from a noirish guitar-chord driven song about California and pitfalls of fame to something more muddy trap where Lana took charge (and shot down a paparazzi helicopter with a bazooka) bc she simply just wanted to get High By the Beach without anyone's nonsense was a genius transition between tracks conceptually. If HBTB wasn't on HM I would genuinely miss it and the record wouldn't feel complete.

 

More proof Lana truly is an album artist and a masterful auteur.

[AlexanderM 20]

This album brought one of her best songs ever, which is Honeymoon. Such a masterpiece, beautiful, hauting, with a flexible slow paced rhythm and constant ups and downs in the flow of its emotions. The strings can put one's feelings screaming the whole melody, her voice is just perfect. The different live version are also great (she was singing better than ever in her mini-tour). Thank God it lasts almost 6 minutes, but it is so well produced that you don't even feel like the song is so big. The song gives you LA references, you can really imagine a story in your head. I just love it, it's really a great song.

 

The album is very consistent, which might be what makes it boring for many, but I personally love this atmosphere, so I can't really get tired of it.

 

For this era, I expected better videos. Lana should make more videos with legendary poetic monologues, I really wish she does it again some day. High by the Beach video was interesting, but the other two are not. They are very well recorded, but MTWBT video is kinda pointless. The Freak video isn't very glamourous, at least the first half. I enjoy the idea of transcendence (through death?) at the end of the song, and the Clair de Lune moment is wonderful, but the first half could be better I think. At least, those videos do not follow mainstream pop clichés, which makes them still unique.

[Veinsineon 70,660]

this is slept on

[HunterSThompson 4,644]

this is slept on

 

 Let's keep it that way sis

[Veinsineon 70,660]

i

 

 Let's keep it that way sis

 dont like the chorus but the verse instrumental is pretty 

[DominicMars 1,761]

High by the Beach

Honeymoon

Music to Watch Boys to

Terrence Loves you

Religion

Blackest Day

Salvatore

Swan Song

 

These songs are all perfect to me. I love this record so much! From lyrics to production....oh and the music videos + BBC radio performance. So good

[DinahLee 5,601]

Hot thread wow

 

Honeymoon was... so different.

I remember waiting for the damn record...first it was the title track on that lyric book from endless summer... then the title track release and I kinda hated it lol.

 

It's funny how I disliked all of the singles at first (I LOVED the title "Music to Watch Boys To" but the song was so meh for me when it was released...) but then, when listening to the whole thing, I felt like it really fit together. Unpopular Opinion but i LOVE the album cover so much. The original and the vinyl exclusive one. I think it's gorgeous and it matches perfectly with the album.

 

Some lyics from the album are really special and one of my fav lines ever "Lies can buy eternity" came from the record so....

 

 

I just think it was sad how the whole thing ran so fast... we waiting for such a long time and the whole thing happened in a blink. I really expected more after the freak premiere...rip.

 

anyway: Swan Song, Terrence Loves You, Music to Watch Boys To, The Blackest Day, Religion...

 

the only song I skip for real is 24 

[Benvolio 329]

A non-event. Some beautiful photoshoots and some okay-good songs. Nothing outstanding. It was nice to see what could have become the Ultraviolence video.

[naachoboy 7,977]

it was boring af 

still more enjoyable than the lust for life one lmfao

[Benvolio 329]

still more enjoyable than the lust for life one lmfao

 

Hardly. Honeymoon has some of her worst and unimaginative lyrics ever.

[triangles19 2,388]

HM is her best major label album by a nose over UV.* HM & 24 are fucking masterpieces. GKIT, "Salvatore", & TBD are fantastic, and MTWBT & "Freak" have moments of sheer brilliance. I do not understand the underappreciation. I can only chalk it up to y'all being pace queens. Or being focused more on promotion or videos than the music itself.

 

*The songs on BTD had the potential to be, but the overproduction ruined it.

Amen

 

Honeymoon is one of my all-time favorite albums. I love every songs and every visuals from it. "Swan Song" is one a the highest peak on Lana's discography to me, it's such a skillful mix between  blackness, elegance and meakness.

I can't understand the underappreciation too.