React: Lana Del Rey - Norman F-ing Rockwell
The embodiment of California?
I haven’t followed Lana super closely since after Ultraviolet was released almost a decade ago. I asked a few friends and on Threads what I should listen to after that, and I got a lot of responses saying Norman F-ing Rockwell should be the first album I listen to.
Full disclosure, I have listened to F-k it I love you and Doin’ Time in the past and really love those tracks.
So without further ado, let’s dive into Lana Del Rey, Norman F-ing Rockwell.
Of course, there is an explicit warning, but that should be fairly obvious given the album title.
Norman F-ing Rockwell
To start, I love the violins at the beginning. I’m always a sucker for those. Oooh, and followed by a piano. I absolutely love intros that are just a single instrument. The ramp between the first verse and chorus is very gentle and gracious. I love it.
I’m surprised Lana is starting the album off with a ballad (post-edit note: this is foreshadowing). It’s not unusual for her to do ballads, but I definitely thought we’d start the album off in a different direction.
Lyrically, I’m assuming this is about a past relationship that she was in where she felt like she was much older than him, even if they were similar in age. Always blaming others, always blaming other things. Never taking accountability for anything he did.
Ugh, that high-pass filter at the end. Just filtering out all of that top end, giving the song an almost telephone-like effect. It’s so good.
I think it’s cool that the entire composition was mostly just the strings, piano, and her vocals (again, more foreshadowing I suppose).
Mariners Apartment Complex
Just like Norman F-ing Rockwell, I love the simple composition of this track. It’s just a guitar, a piano, drums, and her vocals. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say the album is slowly progressing and building over time.
I know it’s only the second track, but I’m thinking this probably won’t be one of my favorite tracks on the album. I like the build and I love the composition. But I guess this is why it’s called a reaction. I may or may not change my mind later. We’ll see.
Venice Bitch
Before even hearing a note of this song, I noticed that this is a nine-minute track. My first thought, of course, is, "This is gonna be Lana’s All Too Well (10 Minute Version) isn’t it?"
I love the higher-pitched, pluckier guitar here. The guitar becomes an electric distorted guitar later on its the song. If you listen carefully, you’ll actually hear it’s two separate guitars, one down the center and the other panning left and right.
Okay. Mad respect for Lana here. She brought in a fucking retro synth and managed to fit it in. That hits hard. I love how "flowy" and soft her vocals are on this track. It creates an atmospheric and spacious effect (even in the stereo mix).
Someone told me a while back that Lana is the embodiment of California. Her sound is what you’d imagine California sounds like, and I think Venice Bitch encapsulates that very well.
F-k It I love you
This is a track I’ve heard before but haven’t heard in a long time.
I’m not totally shocked that this is one of two songs from this album that made it to my library. It’s a fairly up-tempo track with a very heartfelt meaning. I love up-tempo Lana.
I really love the end of the verses/start of the pre-chorus where Lana goes all out and does a mini rap.
One thing that sticks out to me is the fact that the instrumentation is mostly lush and laid back, stripping away a lot of that super high- and low-end, while her vocals are very full and a bit sharp if I’m being honest.
The overlapping vocals in the final choruses are really great too. Those are really hard to do, especially when the artist is responsible for both the main and backing vocals (as opposed to having someone else do the backing vocals). The last thing you want to do there as a producer is to make it sound like Lana is talking over herself. Thankfully, the GOAT Jack Antonoff knows how to do this very well.
Doin’ Time
This track is classic upbeat pop Lana. Again, I’m not terribly surprised this song was already in my library. It’s an absolute bop and now it’s time for you to get up and dance.
One of my favorite ear candies from this track is the snare reverb on every other hit. I know it’s not super unique and it’s been done to death over the last few decades, but I always love the attention to detail.
The breakdown in this song is so good. Rather than strip away everything but a bass and maybe a piano, she decided to strip away the sub-bass and high-level treble. In addition, the track is being smoothly panned. The record scratch is cool too.
As Lana says, "We gon’ run to the party and dance to the rhythm."
Love song
Once again, kicking it off with the strings.
This song is so sweet. The lyrics aren’t terribly deep, but they’re meaningful. "In your car, I’m a star and I’m burnin’ through you." There’s also, "Baby, it’s the best, passed the test and yes. Now I’m here with you and I would like to think that you would stick around."
I think it’s rather fascinating that the song more or less stays the same throughout. A lot of modern ballads have a ramp to them where by the time you hit the final chorus, you have a full orchestra, a bassist, and maybe a guitarist and drummer come in. Not here.
Love song sticks to the piano, strings, and the bass. The song isn’t terribly interesting sonically, but that’s fine since it’s more focused on the lyrics. I can already tell this is going to be one of my favorite songs on the album.
Cinnamon Girl
I love the raw vocals here. I can definitely tell she was sitting much closer to the microphone as you can sort of hear the various mouth movements on the vocal track.
At this point, I just have to say it. Lana gets really creative with her beats and Cinnamon Girl is no exception. The drums on this track are unique and don’t really follow a traditional drum pattern.
The back and forth between Lana’s main and backing vocals in the chorus is a very unique choice. I feel like a lot of the time, you either stick to the traditional backing vocal over the main vocal, or you have the backing vocals completely separate from the main vocal (I hope this makes sense). But in this case, they intertwine. Very cool.
The bass carries a lot of body. Almost as if it’s growling at you. It’s very in your face. I think Lana’s voice lends itself to very interesting bass patterns.
I absolutely love that the last 90 seconds of the song are just the instruments. It’s trying different things. It’s letting the song breathe. It’s ultra-rare in the streaming age, but I’m here for it. I am a sucker for long outros.
How to disappear
Right off the top, I love that this song starts off sounding super retro. People are going to @ me for this (please don’t) but it reminds me of Bohemian Rhapsody a bit.
That hi-hat is sharper than the other tracks on this song. Cool. Oh, it changes into a bell. Even cooler. This song sounds melodramatic but with a title like How to disappear I don’t know what else I was expecting.
More proof that Lana is the embodiment of California sound? "Now it’s been years since I left New York. I’ve got a kid and two cats in the yard. The California sun and the movie stars."
Another banger in my book.
California
What did I say about California vibes? I’m slowly realizing this is mostly a ballad/slow-paced album, and I’m here for it.
This song starts off with a very wide sounding synth with a piano down the center.
Hold on. Those drums came out of nowhere. Right at the 1:23 mark. I was not expecting that at all. I’m two minutes into the song and I’m still flabbergasted at what the hell just happened. That transition hit me like a uhh... wrecking baaaaaa—no, a train.
Somewhat ironically, this song reminds me of West Coast from Lana’s Ultraviolence album. It’s not quite the same, but it has the same change of pace vibe that West Coast had. I get it now. I caught on. The countdowns in between the verses and choruses are signaling the pace change.
The Next Best American Record
It’s not quite upbeat dance-pop, but it’s a good breather a little over halfway through the album. I love the bouncy synth on this track. It’s played in the left channel but reverbs in the right channel.
I also like that, unlike most other songs, the drums on this song aren’t the same few notes played over the entire track. It switches up quite a bit. I’m here for it. Again, unique beats from Lana.
It’s quite the uplifting track for what appears to be a pretty melodramatic, sad album so far. The song gives you hope that maybe you’re on the upswing. (This definitely is not foreshadowing anything.)
The greatest
Another trend I noticed? Lana seems to like very grand intros on this album.
I know that this is supposed to be a sad song but I can’t help but hear the smile in her voice, especially in the chorus. Maybe it’s just me.
What I love most about this song and the rest of the album so far is that it stays with a theme and doesn’t really stray away from it. Some may call it boring, but I think it’s awesome that almost every song so far has kept the same drum kit at the core. With a variation of a synth or piano, bass, and sometimes strings.
Another minute long outro? I’m all for it.
Bartender
I don’t know if it’s intentional (but knowing Mr. Antonoff, it probably is), but I absolutely love the click you can hear to the right that plays throughout most of the song. It keeps me interested.
The layering of the piano during the first chorus is great. Just like The Next Best American Record, Bartender breaks the tension from the last few tracks I think.
It’s a great ballad with just Lana’s vocals and the piano (and of course, the click).
Happiness is a butterfly
My prediction is that we’re now on the tail end of the album. She’s got most of the high-tempo pop tracks out of the way, and at this point, you’re probably listening because you’re a Lana fan (or soon to be one).
Lana obviously isn’t afraid to be vulnerable and I think Happiness is a butterfly is a great example of this. I don’t have much to say about this track but this is absolutely more of a song that focuses on the lyrics than the music. That’s more than okay.
hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have - but i have it
An excellent closer to the album. It may be ignorance on my part and maybe Lana does this all the time in her later albums, but I think it’s great that the album stays consistent all the way through the end. This album has a theme to it and it doesn’t deviate.
I was definitely expecting something different to round out the album.
The song has a strong message: some people think women shouldn’t be in control of their own lives. The problem? Lana doesn’t give a flying fuck and is ambitious and hopeful for her future. There’s not much else to say.
What a powerful message to end the album.
Conclusion
I think this is a great first album back for me. It reintroduced me to a much more mature Lana. With that said, I don’t think this will be making my favorite albums any time soon, Lana or not.
Most of the songs on the album aren’t songs I would regularly listen to if it came up on shuffle. It’s an album I’d have to listen to from top to bottom. But I do think Norman F-ing Rockwell is an overall beautiful album that I could absolutely see myself crying to when I do choose to listen to it.
Note: This reaction was done while listening to Lana Del Rey - Norman F-ing Rockwell on Apple Music with Lossless enabled (24-bit, 44.1kHz). As mentioned in the piece, I’ve heard F-k it I love you and Doin’ Time before.