Album Review: Norman F**king Rockwell! by Lana Del Rey

The album that's stands out in the discography of one of music's most polarizing artists

Before NFR came out, I thought I knew who Lana Del Rey was - the self-described "gangster Nancy Sinatra" whose moody yet playful lyricism interwoven through grand orchestral arrangements infused with (somehow) both hip-hop and blues hinted at a greater artistic potential. I've loved her stuff for years and relished in the few moments (see "Old Money" on her album Ultraviolence) where she dropped the aesthetic she was so used to in favour of more earnest songwriting. And I would have been content with just that, but fast-forward to 2019 and she puts out Norman F**king Rockwell!, a more mature, stripped-back, introspective piece about not just her struggles as a complicated woman navigating relationships with complicated men, but also with a complicated world.

Personally, I think NFR is Lana's best work. Named after the painter known for representing idyllic American life, Lana brings the ideal into question. At a time of significant political unrest, she compares the men in her life to Norman Rockwell; someone who is blind to the state of the world around them. Even on just the album cover alone we see what looks to be a serene, tender moment between Lana and this "Norman Rockwell", but behind them, California is burning (a very literal nod to the most severe wildfire season ever seen in America). It is unclear if Lana is reaching out to pull us into this reality, or searching for an escape, but it is obvious there will be no blissful ignorance on this album. Just like the cover, the songs balance between Lana's typical narrative of loving a man who can't be good for her whilst questioning her place in the supposed American dream. To sum it up, I would say NFR is about finding freedom in transformation in a world that seems to be falling apart.

Trading her usual trap-pop production for a more toned down, Billy Joel-esque sound, this Lana record automatically feels more sincere. It feels as though you are sitting listening to these songs live in a beach dive bar; like it has less to do with upholding the image of Lana Del Rey, and more to do with human emotional complexity. The lyrics are almost hopeless; how can one find love in a world so wrought with conflict and the trappings of toxic masculinity? The problem now isn't with men themselves, but with the system of patriarchy whereby men can never be vulnerable at a time in the world that demands just that. For example, on the title track Lana sings "Your poetry's bad and you blame the news". Her artist boyfriend is using the state of the world as an excuse for making bad art; blaming the world for not being what he needs it to be. This inability to understand the world seeps into their relationship on the next track, Mariners Apartment Complex, which opens with the line "You took my sadness out of context" - unlike him, she is not depressed for the sake of it or to push the narrative that she is a struggling artist. She is depressed by the reality she is living in.

To me, the album's message culminates in the song "The greatest", a stunning piano ballad to close down the bar after a long night of drunk karaoke and self-reflection. The words “L.A.’s in flames, it’s a getting hot. Kanye West is blonde and gone. ‘Life On Mars’ ain’t just a song. Oh, the livestream’s almost on” emphasize the collapse of a world once great. Her despondency comes from a place of realism; are we not just all watching everything crumble? However, she won't leave you on this note. On the closing track, "hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have - but I have it", Lana acknowledges it might not be a good idea to believe things will be alright, as it can only lead to more disappointment. At the same time though, one can't help but have hope, as that is the only way to keep going. We can't escape ourselves or the world we have created, but we can try to change.

Essential Tracks: Norman fucking Rockwell, Mariners Apartment Complex, California, How to disappear, The greatest, Happiness is a butterfly.

Best Lyrics:

“You’re scared to win/ Scared to lose/ I’ve heard the war was over if you really choose/ The one in and around you” - California

"But I love that man like nobody can/ He moves mountains and pounds them to ground again/ I watched there guys getting high as they fight/ For the things that they hold dear/ To forget the things they fear/ This is how to disappear" - How to disappear

"If he's a serial killer, then what's the worst/ That could happen to a girl who's already hurt?/ I'm already hurt/ If he's as bad as they say, then I guess I'm cursed/ Looking into his eyes, I thinks he's already hurt/ He's already hurt" - Happiness is a butterfly