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Ultraviolence (album)

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Untitled

Ultraviolence is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey; it was released on June 13, 2014 by Polydor and Interscope Records.

Development

Since the release of Born to Die in 2012, Del Rey had repeatedly dismissed the idea of releasing another album, because she had "already said everything [she] wanted to say." On the release of Ultraviolence, she said "I mean, I still feel that way, but with this album I felt less like I had to chronicle my journeys and more like I could just recount snippets in my recent past that felt exhilarating to me."[2] In February 2013, Del Rey described the album saying, "It's a little more stripped down but still cinematic and dark. I've been working on it really slowly but I love everything I've done. I've been writing in Santa Monica and I know what the record sounds like. Now I just have to finish it. Musically I've worked with the same three guys."[3] She mentioned that one of the songs off the album would be called "Black Beauty".[3] The demo version leaked in July, Del Rey: "I do feel discouraged, yeah. I don't really know what to put on the record. But I guess I could just put them on and see what happens. Each time I write... I'll never write a song if I don't think it's going to be perfect for the record."[4] She also stated that she was writing "low-key and stripped back" songs and was working with Dan Heath, her boyfriend Barrie-James O'Neill and that she wanted to work with Lou Reed.[4]

In October, Del Rey said about the prospect of a new album, "When people ask me about it, I just have to be honest — I really don't know. I don't want to say, 'Yeah, definitely — the next one's better than this one,' because I don't really hear a next one. My muse is very fickle. She only comes to me sometimes, which is annoying."[5][6]

On February 20, Del Rey posted a picture of herself and Dan Auerbach on Twitter with the caption "Me and Dan Auerbach are excited to present you Ultraviolence".[7] Del Rey and Auerbach were rumoured to be working together at Auerbach's Easy Eye Sound recording studio in Nashville, Tennessee in January and he was said to be producing her upcoming album.[8]

Del Rey and Auerbach were initially scheduled to work together for three days but ended up spending two weeks on recording a full album. About working with Del Rey, Auerbach said "She impressed me every day. There were moments when she was fighting me. I could sense that maybe she didn't want to have anybody think she wasn't in control because I'm sure it's really hard to be a woman in the music business. So we bumped heads a little bit, but at the end of the day we were dancing to the songs."[9] The artist stated that the album draws inspiration from the West Coast, as well as from Brooklyn, New York. In addition, it also features heavy guitars and jazz tones. Del Rey also stated that the inclusion of Auerbach was last-minute. The two met in New York when she believed that the record was finished.[10]

Composition

Del Rey said that she wrote "Brooklyn Baby" song with Lou Reed in mind. She was supposed to work with him and flew to New York City to meet him, but he died the day she arrived.[2] He is referenced in the line "And my boyfriend’s in a band/ He plays guitar while I sing Lou Reed".[11] "Sad Girl" was written about being "the other woman" in an affair. Del Rey wrote "Money Power Glory" as a reaction to her rise to fame. About writing it, she says, "I was in more of a sardonic mood. Like, if all that I was actually going to be allowed to have by the media was money, loads of money, then fuck it... What I actually wanted was something quiet and simple: a writer's community and respect."[2] "Fucked My Way Up to the Top" was written about an undisclosed female singer who, at first, mocked her for her supposedly unauthentic style, but then "stole and copied it" and became successful with it.[12]

Release

Before naming the album, she told the audience, "I really just wanted us all to be together so I could try and visually close out my chapter before [Born To Die/Paradise] I release the new record."[13][14] Journalists identified the phrase from Anthony Burgess' dystopian novella A Clockwork Orange (1962), but reports were conflicting as to whether or not the title was stylized as one or two words.[14][15] In December, during the Hollywood premiere of her short film Tropico, Del Rey announced the title of the album, but no other details.[13]

In early February 2014, Del Rey said the album might be released on May 1 but a representative for Del Rey later said that a release date had yet to be confirmed.[16][17] On May 5, 2014, at a concert of hers in Montreal, Canada, Del Rey said Ultraviolence would be released "next month".[18] The track listing and album cover were unveiled on May 9, 2014.[19][20] During a radio interview on May 8, Del Rey said that the album would be released in the second week of June.[10] On May 14, Del Rey announced via Twitter that her album would be released June 16.[21] As a part of the same announcement, Del Rey revealed information about a deluxe box set version of the album made available for pre-order, stating that it would contain four 12" x 12" art prints, a deluxe CD digipak (including the bonus tracks disclosed in the official tracklisting), a deluxe two-LP picture disc set, and a special box with the album title printed in black foil.[22][23] Urban Outfitters offers an exclusive vinyl edition of the album, containing the standard version tracks on two colored vinyl records, one translucent blue, and one opaque lavender. This edition also comes with a different album artwork.[24]

Promotion

Ultraviolence was unveiled at the premiere of Lana Del Rey's short film Tropico on December 4, 2013.[5] On April 3, 2014, Del Rey announced that the lead single off the record was entitled "West Coast".[25] The artwork for the single was shared via Twitter on April 10, 2014.[26] The singer sang two verses of the song a cappella at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas on April 11, 2014.[27] The song was performed live for the first time two days later during the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.[28] It was officially premiered on Fearne Cotton's show on BBC Radio 1 on April 14,[29] followed by Del Rey tweeting a link to the single's official audio on YouTube.[30] The single was later released to iTunes in the United States the same day.[31] "Shades of Cool" was released as the album's second single on May 26, 2014.[32] The third single and title track, "Ultraviolence", was released on June 4, after first having been performed live by Del Rey on May 25.[33][34][35] "Brooklyn Baby" was released on June 8, as the fourth single.[36][37]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic81/100[38]
Review scores
SourceRating
The Guardian[39]
New York Daily News[40]
Slant Magazine[41]
The Irish Times[42]
DIY (magazine)[43]
Entertainment WeeklyA[44]
Clash Music[45]

Early critical response to the album has been favorable. According to Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album currently holds a score of 81/100, indicating "universal acclaim". [38]Writing in The Guardian, Alexis Petridis wrote that "Every chorus clicks, the melodies are uniformly beautiful, and they soar and swoop, the better to demonstrate Del Rey's increased confidence in her voice. It's all so well done that the fact that the whole album proceeds at the same, somnambulant pace scarcely matters".[39] Kyle Anderson of Entertainment Weekly wrote about Del Rey's aesthetic, stating, "Kubrick would have loved Del Rey — a highly stylized vixen who romanticizes fatalism to near-pornographic levels, creating fantastically decadent moments of film-noir melodrama. It's an aesthetic that demands total commitment from both artist and listener, and it would be difficult to buy into if she didn't deliver such fully realized cinema." He also added, "Ultraviolence masterfully melds those elements, and completes the redemption narrative of a singer whose breakout-to-backlash arc on 2012's Born to Die made her a cautionary tale of music-industry hype." Tony Clayton-Lea of The Irish Times noted, "What seems certain is that whatever she really is, or whatever she does in her chosen milieu, Del Ray is the best at it."[42] Jim Farber of New York Daily News wrote, "Ultimately, she's milking classic male fantasies of the sad Marilyn Monroe, the babe in distress who can only be saved by you - and your dollars."[40] Critic Jamie Hamilton of DIY magazine reviewed the album on a positive note stating, "Most songs on Ultraviolence link up with a bluesy smoke of a sound. Whereas ‘Born to Die’ flirted with gloss and glitz, this is the sound of Lana hitting the road. Producer Dan Auerbach in tow, most of the time the tempo doesn’t get any quicker than a Kolo Touré sprint." Justin Charity of Complex magazine noted, "Ultraviolence is a blues affair, with moody innuendo spilling bloody and bold as the opening sequence to a vintage Bond saga." The critic also called it 'intimate', 'drunk driven'.[46]Mike Diver for Clash Music commented, "For all its lows-inspired highs, Ultraviolence is not quite the complete picture. It goes so far as to reflect, albeit perhaps coincidentally, this era: black and white, the colour has to come from the performance, not the film it’s captured on." The critic gave a bottom line for Del Rey—"A bruised beauty, just short of classic status..."[45]

Track listing

Ultraviolence – Standard edition[47]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Cruel World"
Dan Auerbach6:39
2."Ultraviolence"
  • Del Rey
  • Daniel Heath
Auerbach4:11
3."Shades of Cool"
Auerbach5:42
4."Brooklyn Baby"
  • Del Rey
  • Barrie O'Neill
Auerbach5:51
5."West Coast"
  • Del Rey
  • Nowels
Auerbach4:16
6."Sad Girl"
  • Del Rey
  • Nowels
  • Auerbach
  • Nowels (vocals)
5:17
7."Pretty When You Cry"
  • Stranathan
  • Del Rey
  • Del Rey
  • Stranathan
  • Lee Foster
3:54
8."Money Power Glory"
Kurstin4:30
9."Fucked My Way Up to the Top"
  • Del Rey
  • Heath
Auerbach3:32
10."Old Money"
  • Del Rey
  • Heath
  • Robbie Fitzsimmons
Heath4:31
11."The Other Woman"Jessie Mae RobinsonAuerbach3:01
Total length:51:24
Ultraviolence – Austria, Switzerland, and Germany bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
12."West Coast" (radio mix)
  • Del Rey
  • Nowels
Nowels3:47
Total length:55:11
Ultraviolence – Deluxe edition (bonus tracks)
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
12."Black Beauty"
  • Del Rey
  • Nowels
5:14
13."Guns and Roses"
  • Del Rey
  • Nowels
  • Del Rey
  • Nowels
  • Foster
4:30
14."Florida Kilos"
Auerbach4:14
Total length:65:22
Ultraviolence – Target, Fnac and Japanese bonus track[48][49][50]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
15."Flipside"
  • Del Rey
  • Stranathan
5:10
Total length:70:32
Ultraviolence – iTunes Store bonus track[51]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
15."Is This Happiness"
  • Del Rey
  • Nowels
3:44
Total length:69:06
Ultraviolence – Japanese iTunes Store bonus tracks[52]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
15."Is This Happiness"
  • Del Rey
  • Nowels
3:44
16."Flipside"
  • Del Rey
  • Stranathan
5:10
Total length:74:16

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Ultraviolence.[53]

Performance credits
  • Lana Del Rey - vocals (all tracks); background vocals (tracks 2, 5)
  • Dan Auerbach - background vocals (track 14)
  • Seth Kaufman - background vocals (tracks 4, 14)
  • Alfreda McCrary Lee - background vocals (track 2)
  • Ann McCrary - background vocals (track 2)
  • Regina McCrary - background vocals (track 2)
Instruments
Technical and production
  • Dan Auerbach - production (tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 11, 14); mixing (tracks 2, 14)
  • Julian Burg - additional engineering (track 8)
  • Vira Byramji - assistant engineer (track 13)
  • John Davis - mastering (all tracks)
  • Lana Del Rey - production (tracks 7, 13)
  • Collin Dupuis - engineering (tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 11, 14); mixing (tracks 2, 14)
  • Paul Epworth - production (track 12)
  • Lee Foster - production (tracks 7, 13)
  • Milton Gutiérrez - engineering (track 10)
  • Daniel Heath - production, arrangement (track 10)
  • Phil Joly - engineering (track 7); tracking engineer, mixing (track 13)
  • Greg Kurstin - production, mixing (track 8)
  • Neil Krug - photography
  • Mat Maitland - design
  • Matthew McGaughey - orchestration (track 10)
  • Kieron Menzies - vocal engineering (tracks 6, 12)
  • Rick Nowels - vocal production (tracks 6, 12); production (track 13)
  • Alex Pasco - additional engineering (track 8)
  • Robert Orton - mixing (tracks 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12)
  • Myan Soffia - additional photography
  • Blake Stranathan - production (track 6)
  • Matt Wiggins - engineering (track 12)
  • Andy Zisakis - assistant engineer (track 10)

Release history

Country Date Edition Format(s) Label
Germany[54][55][56] June 13, 2014
  • Standard
  • Deluxe
  • Super deluxe
Universal
Netherlands[57][58]
  • Standard
  • Deluxe
 Polydor
Switzerland[59] Universal
France[60][61] June 16, 2014
  • Standard
  • Deluxe
  • Super deluxe
United Kingdom[62]
  • Standard
  • Deluxe
 Polydor
Italy[63]
  • Standard
  • Deluxe
  • Super deluxe
Canada[64] June 17, 2014
  • Standard
  • Deluxe
 Universal
Mexico[65]
  • Standard
Interscope
Spain[66]
  • Standard
  • Deluxe
  • Super deluxe
Universal
United States[67]
  • Standard
  • Deluxe
 Interscope
Japan[68] June 18, 2014

References

  1. ^ https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/ultraviolence-deluxe/id880747579
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  3. ^ a b "Lana Del Rey says her second album will be 'spiritual'". bbc.co.uk. BBC. February 27, 2013. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  4. ^ a b Mapes, Jillian (August 16, 2013). "Interview: Lana Del Rey on the Leaks, the Imitators & the Haters". Radio.com. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  5. ^ a b Grow, Kory (December 5, 2013). "Lana Del Rey's New Album Is Called 'Ultraviolence'". Rolling Stone. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
  6. ^ "December 5, 2013 12:02 Lana Del Rey names new album 'Ultraviolence'". NME. IPC Media. December 5, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
  7. ^ "Me and Dan Auerbach are excited to present you Ultraviolence". Twitter. February 20, 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  8. ^ Obenshain, Philip (January 23, 2014). "[RUMOR MILL] Lana Del Rey Recording in Nashville; Dan Auerbach Producing?". No Country for New Nashville. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  9. ^ "The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach admits he and Lana Del Rey 'bumped heads' making her new album". NME. May 5, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  10. ^ a b Sencio, Bill (May 9, 2014). "Lana Del Rey Talks 'Ultraviolence,' Touring & More". 96.5 TIC. Retrieved May 10, 2014.
  11. ^ Ehrlich, Brenna (June 8, 2014). "Lana Del Rey Drops 'Brooklyn Baby' For All Of Us Hipsters". MTV. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  12. ^ Rüth, Steffen (June 5, 2014). "Lana Del Rey". Grazia (in German) (24/2012). Hamburg, Germany: G+J/Klambt-Style-Verlag GmbH & Co. KG: 36. ISSN 2192-3965. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
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  26. ^ "Down on the West Coast, they have a sayin'..." Twitter. April 10, 2014. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
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  28. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (April 14, 2014). "Coachella 2014: Lana Del Rey Debuts 'West Coast' Single In Star-Making Performance". Billboard. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
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  30. ^ Del Rey, Lana (April 14, 2014). "WEST COAST". Twitter. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
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  32. ^ "Shades Of Cool: Lana Del Rey: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.com. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
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