Following two consecutive nominations for Album of the Year at the Grammys for “Lust for Life” and “NFR”, Lana Del Rey finds a new sound in her recently released “Chemtrails Over The Country Club”.  This album has everything from breathy and intimate, to sassy and vengeful, and with only one song out of 11 containing a featuring artist, we get to hear a lot of Del Rey. Just like every one of her other six studio albums, the songs continue to have outlandish titles, such as “Tulsa Jesus Freak” and the album title “Chemtrails Over The Country Club”.

Because her last two studio albums were consecutively nominated for Album of the year at the Grammys in 2019 and 2020, Del Rey’s seventh studio album had a high bar to reach. This album has a very different feel and tone than any of her other albums, which is nothing new with Del Rey, as each of her albums has a different theme. With “NFR”, it was the beach and with “Chemtrails Over The Country Club”, it takes on the theme of an old 1950’s country club and the women who work within it and go to it. It tells a story from track to track about these people and what they may be going through. I think Del Rey’s message throughout this album is just because people seem perfect and go to a country club, they may still have problems behind the money and luxury.

With this album, I think Del Rey wanted to experiment with her voice and explore her breathy side, as well as trying to train her voice to go higher than it usually goes, hitting those high notes. Experimentation of her more breathy side is evident in the first track on the album, “White Dress”. This song sounds very intimate and more serious than the others; you can tell it has personal meaning. The music video to “White Dress” dropped on March 19 along with the album. 

This album also does a nice job of letting her explore, with all of the songs sounding different, but still having the album flow so nicely from one song to the next. It was also much more toned down and relaxing to listen to than “Lust for Life” or “Born to Die” where the songs are a little more upbeat while having a rather more serious subject.

My favorite tracks on this album are “Tulsa Jesus Freak”, “Wild at Heart”, and “Breaking Up Slowly”. These songs each have a very different sound to them, as well as a different meaning for each one. In “Tulsa Jesus Freak”, Del Rey gives advice as to how her “man” should stay close to Jesus since he has a bottle in his hand, hinting at an alcohol addiction. However, she quickly switches gears in “Wild at Heart”, when Del Rey says that if people love her, it’s because she’s “wild at heart”. “Breaking Up Slowly” then describes the struggles of breaking up with someone “slowly”. 

This album really encaptures Del Rey’s possible new sound and new vocal strengths. As always, her lyrics and different sounds were immaculate and made for an easy and satisfying listening experience. I was very pleased with this album. Upon first listening to, it didn’t really capture my attention, but with further investigation of the lyrics, instruments, and Del Rey’s soothing voice, I was hooked. Though this might need to grow on you a little after the first listen, I strongly encourage you to give it a try, as it really is an amazing piece of art and tells a valuable story. 

Del Rey surprised fans, posting on her Instagram that she will be releasing another album on June 1. This album will be called “Rock Candy Sweet”. Though fans don’t know much about it yet, it is said to address cultural appropriation allegations against her.