Lana Del Rey- Chemtrails Over the Country Club
Label: Interscope
Producers: Lana Del Rey, Jack Antonoff and Rick Nowels
The seventh long-player from singer-songwriter and alt-rock innovator Lana Del Rey, and follow up to 2019’s brilliantly acclaimed Norman Fucking Rockwell, reunites the wondrously unique artist with the wizardly lead producer of that record, the highly in demand Jack Antonoff. Together, with co-producer Rick Nowels, the pair has once again masterfully crafted a sprawling collection that exudes the spell-binding qualities that have established Del Rey as such a captivating artistic force to be reckoned with. Her classic contradiction of melodramatic mystery with subtly nuanced and gorgeous storytelling is once again the consistently sturdy anchor of the set. She seduces listeners with an alluring musical aura that serves like a tattered but inspiring travelogue through everything from turbulent romantic discourse to the comforting yet crippling simplicity of domestic suburbia to the absolutely viscous pitfalls of fame and a career in the music industry. She leaves no stone unturned and excavates each and every piece of emotion and experience with her signature, unabashed grit and honesty.
The gloomy beauty residing in Del Rey’s uniquely haunting voice is well-established at this point, and Chemtrails Over the Country Club provides a generous quantity of further evidence as to the wonders she can capture within her range. It’s a sound that simply no other artist can touch. The hushed, high whisper with which she delivers the tale of “White Dress” aches with such a ragged sense of sadness and yearning as she soulfully bastardizes all her fame and fortune and longs to return to a simpler time. It’s quite the bewildering brand of nostalgia to say the least. The conflict depicted here continues in the project’s title track, a bizarre and deliciously eerie deep dive into the despair of domesticity. Initially she almost sounds like a zombie being overtaken by the false pleasures and happiness that color a lavish, suburban lifestyle. She sounds so disconnected on the surface and soon leaves the listener contemplating the meaning behind our own potentially mundane existences. That is until she flips the script and you realize the bait and switch is that, much like in “White Dress”, she’s longing for this lifestyle to be her’s once again.
This constant confrontation with celebrity comes to a head on the fantastic, psychedelically tinged “Dark But Just A Game”, with her emphatic and haunting proclamation that she won’t be broken and destroyed by the industry, like so many before her who have sadly met that fate. Conversely, she sounds admittedly more optimistic and comforted on “Not All Who Wander Are Lost”; at least as optimistic as a LDR record can sound, of course. Regardless, the performance is one of the record’s most awe-inspiring showcases of her chilling, singular voice. Anyone doubting her ability to conquer, and likely eviscerate the demons she sings about, are most definitely ill-advised.
As expected, her brushes on this record with romantic complexities and interpersonal relationships are no-less complicated or guttural as her clashes with the baggage presented by her career as a recording artist. The tremendous “Wild at Heart” offers a sterling commentary on the secret to the most durable romantic partnerships: one’s worst moments must pull the very best from their partner. In “Yosemite”, she offers a glimpse into a relationship that has likewise maintained its foundation even as it evolves simultaneously with the individuals themselves. In lead single, “Let Me Love You Like A Woman”, Del Rey revisits the deeper, more sultry corners of her range and the results are positively raw and radiant. Make no mistake, her POV on love also remains tarred as everything else: twisted and slightly demented. But we wouldn’t want it any other way.
Brilliant as her startling vocals and tarnished topical narrative both remain, perhaps the most rewarding moments of Chemtrails occur when her still restless stylistic inclinations abound and pivot her sound in intriguing new directions and genres. In the case of this record, those directions prove to point gloriously toward the arenas of alt-country and folk, all the while retaining her signature touchstones. On “Breaking Up Slowly”, she’s joined by alt-country favorite Nikki Lane whose pure, harsh twang proves to be a fabulous match for Lana. It’s a deliciously enticing collaboration which finds the pair exploring the doomed marriage of country legends George Jones and Tammy Wynette. After all, if there were any musical love story perfectly paired for the record’s earlier dark, domestic tales, it’s certainly this one. Another spectacular left-turn arrives with “Dance Til We Die”, a ramshackle blend of alt-rock vocals, singer-songwriter spirit and jazzy horns that pays homage to inspirations like Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Stevie Nicks and Courtney Love. It’s only fitting then that the record closes with cover of Mitchell’s exquisite “For Free”, with both Zella Day and Weyes Blood providing duet vocals. The blend of these three voices is absolutely hair-raising, and well-suited vessel for the timeless genius of Mitchell’s lyrics. Weyes’ final verse is particularly heart wrenching and in turn summarizes this album as a whole perfectly, gracefully connecting back to the record’s central battle between commerce and happiness.
Brimming with musical wonder, sterling performances, vibrant emotions and potent social commentaries, Chemtrails Over the Country Club is another stunning entry in Lana Del Rey’s library of modern masterpieces. She is one of those true artists who continues to find new ways to showcase her gifts as a performer and express her complex life experiences, all the while remaining loyal to the mysteriously moody sound and identity that has made her a special presence in today’s music climate from the onset. This isn’t feel-good pop or rock by any stretch of the imagination, but the emotions it will stir within you will elicit a euphoric listening experience all the same.
Track Listing
- “White Dress” (Lana Del Rey, Jack Antonoff)
- “Chemtrails Over the Country Club” (Del Rey, Antonoff)
- “Tulsa Jesus Freak” (Del Rey, Antonoff)
- “Let Me Love You Like A Woman” (Del Rey, Antonoff)
- “Wild at Heart” (Del Rey, Antonoff)
- “Dark But Just A Game” (Del Rey, Antonoff)
- “Not All Who Wander Are Lost” (Del Rey, Antonoff)
- “Yosemite” (Del Rey, Rick Nowels)
- “Breaking Up Slowly” featuring Nikki Lane (Del Rey, Nikki Lane)
- “Dance Till We Die” (Del Rey, Antonoff)
- “For Free” featuring Zella Day and Weyes Blood (Joni Mitchell)
The 706 
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