I must revisit everything so far. I love the concept and style she goes for but somehow she never came near the standard of Born to Die (the song) again, for me.

People don't like Ultraviolenve for the sheer fact its not commercial sounding or a BTD 2. It's a beautiful and thematic record that blends lyrically and sonically.

 

I would even go as far to argue that Old Money is her best song.

I might have to give Ultraviolence a full listen (FINALLY!) to prove y'all who say it's great and stuff (what does even this 'it's a BADEH OF WURK!!1' mean?!) WRONG.

I don't like Ultraviolence because it's just dull and really plods. That's all. It's quite self indulgent and for some reason makes me think of those pretentious girls at festivals who wear flower crowns and thnk they're a junkie after trying one pill for the first time.

^ amazingly apt description. perfect.

Gosh I really don't get it. UV is so panned on Buzzjack, but is practically acclaimed by critics, was considered one of the best albums of 2014 and was called "a classic" by some very highly notable critics - and conversely, BTD was much more negatively received but on here its made out to be some masterpiece of note :')

 

I can't help but feel it's the rock roots and it being a very complicated yet very cohesive concept album that blinds people opinions towards it. It was not produced with the intent of being a BTD 2.0 catchy pop album with lots of single potential but as a body of work instead, its shift turn from the cinematic pop style of BTD backs this up, her variety in vocal delivery, it has the concept BTD lacked. To call UV "nothing" is almost laughable but at the same time proves that you've misunderstood it as a cohesive concept album, haven't paid attention to its finer details and complicated artistry involved. Then again the UV critics on here wanting a BTD 2.0 this early in her career makes me wonder why I'm defending UV in the first place...

People don't like Ultraviolenve for the sheer fact its not commercial sounding or a BTD 2. It's a beautiful and thematic record that blends lyrically and sonically.

 

I would even go as far to argue that Old Money is her best song.

OMG THIS

 

I honestly don't get how people can call it boring and "nothing" when there are songs like Old Money, West Coast, Shades of Cool, The Other Woman - each so unique from the other yet at the same time tie so well in with the album's concept. How can Lana singing about stereotypes and other characters but herself be considered "self-indulgent"?

No need for pretenses. People don't like it because it's crap, bar 4-5 tracks.

 

PREACH!!

 

:lol:

 

This and what Jark said!!

 

Body of McDonalds.

Okay, I listened to this and I decided I won't really go into hate mode. This is indeed a concept album and many are bound to dislike it.

 

The instrumental in the chorus of Brooklyn Baby is catchy as hell and West Coast is great but really overall it's too depressing and dull for me. It might not be dark for the sake of being dark - you never know these things unless you are Lana Del Rey herself really. I guess it was a logical decision to make the entire album out of sad ballads given her most successful hits from Born to Die were exactly like that. When the public starts getting bored she will evolve. And judging by BTD she can easily change it up.

 

I kinda doubt she wasn't happy with the album since she WROTE IT. Therefore it's what she wanted to write and sing. Nothing wrong with that. In fact it's quite a bold move to release Cheek 2 Cheek... I mean Ultraviolence when her career is at the peak and people are excited to hear what she comes up with next after such a strong debut. Capitalising on her sound and locking the fanbase and audience. Seriously, who do you think of first when you think of depressing and sad mainstream artist to listen to? Probably Lana. This one is here to stay.

When the professionals are saying:

 

Pitchfork: "Gorgeous and rich. Much more cohesive than Born to Die"

 

The Guardian: "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"

 

Clash: "A bruised beauty just short of classic status"

 

Entertainment Weekly: "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. 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."

 

Rolling Stone: 3rd Best Pop Album of 2014

 

Time: 7th best album of 2014

 

Slant: 3rd best album of 2014

 

Boston Globe: Best album of 2014

 

etc etc etc

 

While people on here are calling it "nothing" and "body of mcdonalds" - then you know the album is an acquired taste

Firstly it really shouldn't matter what the critics say when forming your opinion on pop music. That they are "professionals" doesn't make their vote count for double. Secondly UV has 74 on Metacritic, which is not universal acclaim, vs 62 for Born To Die so hardly a huge difference and the latter was definitely not "received negatively".

 

Also a quick glance at last fm shows that four of her top five most played last week came from BTD including the entire top three, so it's not a minority opinion...

 

 

It is a decent body of work on it's own. But I think what hinders it is that it came after 'Born To Die', an album which I imagine is on a lot of people's favourite albums of all time lists.

 

For me 'West Coast' was the only one which I felt properly resonated with me. I do want to go back to it and give it one last try though.

Firstly it really shouldn't matter what the critics say when forming your opinion on pop music. That they are "professionals" doesn't make their vote count for double. Secondly UV has 74 on Metacritic, which is not universal acclaim, vs 62 for Born To Die so hardly a huge difference and the latter was definitely not "received negatively".

 

Also a quick glance at last fm shows that four of her top five most played last week came from BTD including the entire top three, so it's not a minority opinion...

I somewhat predicted you bringing up the "what critics say shouldn't effect what you say" point, and Metacritic. Firstly, nowhere did I say that what critics say should matter in forming an opinion of music - I'm merely pointing out the critical reception of Ultraviolence in general to that of what it is on here, it's a comparison, not a dictatory instruction

 

Secondly, Lana was PANNED when she broke out, mocked, she received a lot of criticism during Born to Die, how are you ignoring this? Sure she was loved on here, but the critics and GP were very much divided. Something pointed out endlessly in a number of Ultraviolence press releases. Metacritic in this case becomes irrelevant, since when is 62 score something to rave about anyway?

 

Last fm? You're completely missing the point - Ultraviolence ISN'T commercially focused. How does last fm accurately represent the majority? Bringing up a random count from a declining music app as means of proving a what the majority of the opinion is very out of the loop hun, especially when you bring up Ultraviolence's metacritic score being higher than BTD's in the same post

 

Last fm represents what Lanas fans are listening to, it's a sample size of tens of thousands and it clearly implies that despite being the older album BTD has many more fans than UV. Yes yes not commercially focused, artistic underground opus, blah blah. This argument is as boring for me as it is for everyone reading it so bye!

62 v 74 is a huge difference.

To be honest I think it's a bit offensive to say that people dislike the album because it's not commercial enough. I like indie/alternative stuff just as much, but Ultraviolence just doesn't compare.

 

I never trust what the critics say because they're one person and I bet they only hear albums a couple of times before writing their reviews. I did like UV after a couple of listens. It just didn't stick.

Lol @ last.fm comparisons. Born To Die had hit singles, of course it dominates in "most played Lana songs" lists. Most people have heard one song from Ultraviolence.

Less commercial ≠ better.

 

'West Coast' was a great comeback single 'cause it showed a different side of her but was still addictive. The album as a whole.. meh. I'm not even hugely positive on BTD either but at least that is an enjoyable listen overall. And I love depressive music but Lana Del Rey's high school girl lyrics.. no thanks, I'm there for the tunes.

 

The only other UV track I can still recall is 'Brooklyn Baby' (partly 'cause it's addictive, partly 'cause it's basically 'Summertime Sadness').

Edited April 24, 201510 yr by Atonement

Well so far UV is the album I wanted Born to Die to be. Certainly an improvement.

This has prompted me to listen to the album again too and see if I was harsh on it first time around. I'm currently up to Brooklyn Baby and it already feels like the album has been on for about 3 days.