Lana Del Rey released her new single “West Coast” earlier in the month, but I wasn’t ready to dive in back then. I needed some time, for whatever reason.
Maybe because these days it seems like people just hate Del Rey simply because others do, and their twitter accounts would loose some of their cool if they said anything otherwise. It just doesn’t make sense to me consider a majority of these same people adore Kanye, Lorde, Sky Ferreira, Justin Timberlake, etc. You get the point. I get that she isn’t for everyone. However, judge her based on the music, and leave the rest for the birds. It gets too exhausting to think about.
Del Rey will release her new album Ultraviolence later this year. It was produced by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, which is one of the things that intrigues me about this next album. “West Coast” is our first taste of this latest stage in Del Rey’s career and you know what, it’s a very promising turn.
After all the recent radio play of “Summertime Sadness”, I fully expected her to dive into a more radio-friendly pop territory, but she actually does quite the opposite on “West Coast.” It’s a slow-burner song that builds off a very Black Keys atmosphere. Del Rey doesn’t try anything too flashy, working alongside Auerbach’s direction. It’s a rather refreshing and interesting direction for to take. I wasn’t blown away at first, but the more I listen to it, the more it continues to impress.
Find Auerbach’s radio-friendly mix below, followed by the official music video which features the regular version.
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