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Celeb News: Critics review Lana Del Rey's 'Born to Die'
Member Since: 6/15/2011
Posts: 5,842
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I completely co-sign with The Guardian's review, but the rating does not correspond with the review at all. 
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Member Since: 4/13/2011
Posts: 8,569
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MusicOMH - 60 (not added)
http://www.musicomh.com/albums/lana-del-rey_0112.htm
Quote:
Born To Die certainly has its moments - it's full of lush, orchestrated pop, with choruses to die for and Del Rey's smokey drawl sounding impossibly seductive. Video Games and Blue Jeans, despite suffering Adele-style levels of ubiquity in recent months, still sound achingly beautiful, both of them sounding like the saddest love songs ever written.
The title track's string section is also beautifully orchestrated, and while the overall mood is downbeat and lovelorn, the odd up-tempo moments are surprisingly danceable - Diet Mtn Dew and Off To The Races in particular stand out with breathy half-rapped vocals from Del Rey, and a ridiculously addictive beat that has you wiggling in your seat throughout.
However, while there's plenty to enjoy on Born To Die, there's also plenty to disappoint. The lyrics, in particular, seem to fit to a template that soon becomes wearying: Lana falls in doomed love with a bad boy, pledges she'll love him till she dies, tells everyone how crazy and generally 'bad' she is, and proclaims a bizarre fondness for red dresses, which are mentioned so many times you almost expect Chris De Burgh to hove into view.
National Anthem (the song that the aforementioned Sneddon had a hand in writing), for example, would have been one of the best tracks on the album - another soaring string arrangement, a big, glorious chorus designed to be played loud, and then it's all spoilt by Del Rey warbling: "money is the reason we exist, everybody knows it, it's a fact, kiss kiss". Million Dollar Man, despite sounding like the best Bond theme never written, is brought down by a chorus full of cliches like "one for the money, two for the show".
The album could also do with some editing, as the lack of variety soon begins to show. It's very much a 'front-loaded' album, so while it gets off to a bright start with Off To The Races and the singles featuring heavily, the last half of the album is full of anonymous plodders like Carmen and Summertime Sadness. A more judicious editor may be needed for Del Rey's follow-up album.
Yet there's just enough promise here to show that there is indeed talent beyond all the hype. While it may not be a perfect album, Born To Die does suggest that the orchestrated backlash may well be a bit premature.
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Member Since: 4/13/2011
Posts: 8,569
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Beats Per Minute - 67 (not added)
http://beatsperminute.com/reviews/al...y-born-to-die/
Quote:
The self-proclaimed “gangsta Nancy Sinatra” is most successful when she focuses on the Sinatra half of her formula, but there is something about the overall production – mixing orchestral backing with hip hop samples – that comes off as fresh, and reveals a keen eye for subtleties with repeat listens. But, as on “Video Games,” “Million Dollar Man,” and, perhaps the album’s most masterful number, “Radio,” Del Rey can get under your skin when she is selling us the sexy lounge singer, equal parts old Hollywood and trashy strip club. “Radio” is particularly meta, showing trace amounts of Madonna in the verse and even going as far to unleash an f-bomb in the chorus, and delivering her most believable lyric: “baby love me ’cause I’m playing on the radio.”
Del Rey’s hip hop-inspired delivery (try saying that out loud with a straight face) works within the confines of the record, though the actual substance of her rhymes are weak to say the least. Where “Off To The Races” is silly fun, with love-it-or-hate-it vocal twitches (though, the fake Who-esque stutter in “Summertime Sadness” is far more distracting) that I adore with the same breath that I admit there is no way in hell she will be able to pull them off live, it still must be said that the word “loins” doesn’t sound good on record, in any context. “Blue Jeans” would probably be described by Del Rey as “gangsta spaghetti western,” but, aside from its most basic of forced rhymes (“‘Cause I’mma ride or die / Whether you fail or fly / Well **** at least you tried”), it is still a clever spin on genre, sounding unique, even inspired. And, as easy as it is to pick her apart, what makes Lana Del Rey interesting to listen to, and to write about, is that there are genuine ideas here. Sure, they may borderline on gimmick at times, but Born To Die has its own sound, and that is more than we can say about a lot of music that is presently being released, whether it is pop or indie. And while there are a couple stinkers (“Carmen” and “National Anthem” – in the latter she actually says “booyah”), there is a lot of room for Del Rey to grow if she wants to, as she already has a developed style for delivering her ideas and just needs a bit more to say.
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Member Since: 4/13/2011
Posts: 8,569
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The Hartford Courant - Negative (not added)
http://courantblogs.com/sound-check/...view/#more-300
He opens with...
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The knock on Lana Del Rey is that she’s all style and no substance, a pouty product placement trading on unearned hipster cred that was essentially manufactured by a major-label marketing machine.
Put another way, she’s the ideal embodiment of an age of grasping artifice on her new album, “Born to Die” (Interscope). It’s a fascinating blend of calculated naďveté, cynical nihilism and naked ambition, sometimes juxtaposed one line to the next on songs that mix swirling string arrangements with hip-hop beats; retro-chic with a shrewd, modern self-awareness.
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Likely to be 30-40 
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Member Since: 3/25/2011
Posts: 10,337
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I'm appalled at some of these negatives reviews - do they even know what they are talking about? Like... criticizing National Anthem...really?
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Member Since: 6/10/2009
Posts: 10,622
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These reviews are so blah. I understand people having opinions when it comes to things BUT I hate when people try and "think" for others.
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Member Since: 5/9/2011
Posts: 1,384
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I know I'm late but BTD was kind of a mixed bag for me. I hated the album version of the song I was most looking forward to hear, Diet Mtn Dew. Plus everything sounds the same, or at least way too similar for me to enjoy this album for a long time, I know I'll be tired in less than 2 months. I did like some of the songs though, and BTD, VG and Blue Jeans are still great. I'm moderately obsessed with National Anthem atm, even when the lyrics annoy the **** out of me.
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Member Since: 4/3/2011
Posts: 7,281
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Wow The critics 
Didnt they love her from start ? Those hipsters are some bipolar mess 
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Member Since: 11/12/2009
Posts: 14,298
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She's at 59 now 
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Member Since: 9/7/2010
Posts: 28,471
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NME 8/10 Still not available online.
This will help her score a lil bit.Ugh I'm disgusted by the fact this album is having ****ing 59 score.
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Member Since: 10/29/2010
Posts: 29,249
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I wasn't aware that this album was being critically panned... Tiny Mix Tapes
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Member Since: 11/14/2011
Posts: 9,158
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Quote:
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Lana Del Rey is gorgeous and has a different style than most. Unfortunately, it's not a particularly good style and she doesn't do it particularly well. She's not terrible, but definitely not worth all the hype.
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I agree with this one.
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Member Since: 11/5/2010
Posts: 2,449
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This is getting slaughtered in reviews.
Thats sad... but critics really hold no value these days, Unless they review every record based apon that artist without hate or taste coming into the equation.
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Member Since: 11/4/2010
Posts: 1,070
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Quote:
Originally posted by Shaner69
This is getting slaughtered in reviews.
Thats sad... but critics really hold no value these days, Unless they review every record based apon that artist without hate or taste coming into the equation.
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