Oh Lana Del Ray, I did not want to like you. But after seeing your miserable, kafka-esque performance on Saturday Night Live, I felt for you, a little. If any of you haven't heard, critics and celebrities alike have panned her appearance on the show a couple weeks ago. It could have just been nerves or as she admits, that she's just not a good performer. Take a look. It's pretty painful, but I get a kick of the awkward holding herself and hair flipping.
Lana del Ray was born Elizabeth Grant. Born to Die is her major label debut on Interscope Records. Up until a few months ago, no one knew of her. Part of the reason Del Rey inspires so much ire is that her persona is somewhat made up. Three minutes of Internet browsing will tell you a few things: She had once been a struggling singer-songwriter from Lake Placid, where her father was in the domain-name business. It is not clear whether she was a trust-fund baby or she really lived in a trailer park, which is what she later told Complex magazine.
But, most controversially, she looked quite different as Lizzy Grant. She used to wear her hair short and bleached it blonde. She did not wear ball gowns. Her lips were considerably thinner. (She has denied getting lip injections.) She did not look like the gangsta Nancy Sinatra—which is how she describes herself. She looked more Mary Ann than Ginger.
But then her new music, now produced by Emile Haynie of Kid Cudi fame, stole a dash of Mazzy Star’s heroin slumber, fused it with so-called sad core soul, and paired it with mournful, poignant lyrics about a lovelorn girl. And her vocals were being sung several octaves lower. The result: Lizzy Grant had turned herself from sweet and airy to sultry and dark. The first comparisons that came to my mind were Shakespeare's Sister meets Portishead.
For the tastemakers, learning about Lizzy Grant was “the beginning of the backlash,” she says. It was almost intensified by the fact that they were being swindled by a pretty young woman. The interesting thing is female singers invent their personas all the time,” she says, citing Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and Beyoncé.
The key difference between someone like Katy Perry and Lana Del Rey is that it’s understood and accepted that the former is the invention of a bigger image-making machine. But someone like Del Rey dredges up those age-old questions around authenticity in art: Can she really sing? Is she a true artist with a real vision? Is she just a puppet of the record label? Did she write her own lyrics?
After listening to the entire album and comparing it to her performance on TV, it is my estimation that her sound is made "in a lab", as I like to call it--lush strings, heavy-handed production that's layered in a way that's incredibly noticable. I'm not inherently against such things, but I warn you, this isn't an "indie" album. There is nothing lo-fi about it. And yes, there isn't anything denoting a "struggling" singer-songwriter.
However, it's definitely worth a listen.
Buy your copy at the shop! It comes with a free 7" Single and she is on our listening station for the month of February.
Email marta@alternativemusic.com if you want to special order a copy.
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