Lana Del Rey sets mood for Norman Fucking Rockwell album with new singles
Lana Del Rey started promotion for her upcoming album Norman Fucking Rockwell almost a year ago when her single ‘Mariners Apartment Complex’ came out. She dropped ‘Venice Bitch’ soon after, but then the project seemed to derail a bit. Del Rey is back on track now, as the album is coming out on the 30th of August while she just dropped the double single ‘Fuck It I Love You’ and ‘The Greatest’ with a music video.

Both tracks are unmistakably Del Rey, but neither feel like she is simply repeating herself. ‘Fuck it I love you’ offers a certain playfulness in the lyrics as she delivers them in an angelic high tone. The way she sings ‘dream a little dream of me’ is captivating and the manner in which she almost disguises the title with her pronunciation and tone is interesting to say the least. Sonically the tune could be described as a lighter and more straightforward little sister of Ultraviolence single ‘West Coast’ with a similar instrumentation, but more subtle use of the synths.

‘The Greatest’ is easily the better one of the two and potentially the strongest take of the Norman Fucking Rockwell project yet. It is a five minute long epos with a big compelling chorus and lyrics that balance between heartbreaking on a personal level and commenting on bigger trends. She touches upon climate change, seemingly ironically uses the slang term ‘lit’ and calls Kanye West blond and gone. There is a whole lot of double meanings to be found in these lyrics, but the ‘greatest loss of them all’ line hits every single time. This tune basically sums up all reasons why Lana Del Rey is such a singular and exciting pop star.

The accompanying visuals balance between campy in the first part and just aesthetically very pleasing in the second. One more week until she graces us with Norman Fucking Rockwell!