By Roxana Berentes

Lana Del Rey’s latest studio album, Blue Banisters, delves into the complexities of her life and offers her listeners a real look into who she is, far exceeding what she’s revealed to us for so many years.

Being in the light since 2012, a mass of misconstrued aesthetics, lack of transparency, and the brutality of social media culture had left the 36 year-old artist, Lana Del Rey, separated from those who support her and lacking a narrative for exactly who she is.

Del Rey’s eighth studio album Blue Banisters bridges the gap that so many had been flailing to fill. She pairs her unmatched lyricism with the raw stories and emotions that culminated into her being. This angle positions these 15 tracks apart from her past works as they give an intimate sense of the struggles Del Rey has faced while unveiling exactly how she has grown in the process. 

Symbolism is persistent throughout Del Rey’s music; one of the most prominent forms coming from her affinity for the color blue. She has taken a color that has long been associated with sorrow and fragility and twisted it throughout the years into something flush with aspiration and optimism. Though lines like “Push me out of the black and into the blue” from her song “Get Free” and “Paint me happy in blue” from her song “Venice B*tch”, Del Rey seems to see blue as a color for new beginnings, so it’s fitting that an album like this features the color in its title. 

An album that encapsulates one of an artist’s most noteworthy symbols only makes sense to be as raw and emotive as Blue Banisters, but to truly understand the depth of how sincere Blue Banisters is, let's take a deeper look into the songs that makeup the album.

The first three songs were all originally released prior to the full album, and because of the focus on the lyrics being more talk-based than rhythmic, they can be seen as somewhat of a stream of consciousness.

“Text Book” tackles her difficult relationship with her parents and how fame shifted her life and how she was perceived drastically through the line “do you think if I go blonde, we could get our old love back?” alluding to her old alias, Lizzy Grant, and how differently she was treated back then. 

The title track, “Blue Banisters”, features subtle instrumentals that give room for Del Rey’s vocals to shine as she tells the story of her most recent ex-lover. The “thesis” of the song can be seen through the lines “Most men don’t want a woman with a legacy, it’s of age” depicting how relationships are extraneously complicated when fame is a factor. 

Finally, Arcadia is an ode to LA of sorts. Although not her hometown, she adopted Los Angeles after her rise to fame in 2012. “They built me up three-hundred feet tall just to tear me down”, a line from the song addressing her staunt following juxtapositions those trying to “cancel” her for years since her career took off. She essentially was brought down for many of the same ideas and storylines in her early works that had originally gained her popularity.

This stream of consciousness is broken by the album’s interlude. Fully instrumental, “Interlude-The Trio'', intertwines “Il Triello” by Ennio Morricone with trap beats that nods to the hip-hop influence Del Rey often draws inspiration from in her music. Because of this, the interlude gives a more badass edge to the album’s otherwise softer tune, reminding us of the duality of Del Rey.

Following the interlude, “Black Bathing Suit” harks back to the term “bad girls” from her album Born To Die, showing her growth by poking fun at this past persona. She’s also likely addressing the multitude of comments made on her body as social media has torn her outward appearance apart in recent months. She counters and acknowledges this through a taunting song about the only thing fitting is a single article of clothing. 

“If You Lie Down With Me” was originally written for her album Ultraviolence about her relationship with then-boyfriend Barrie James O'Neill. The song puts heavy reliance on Del Rey’s vocals showcasing the delicacy of her sound especially when singing about someone she holds dear. Ending in a minute-long jazz outro, the song exudes a sense of deep sincerity despite being simple in comparison to others on the album. 

“Beautiful” and “Violets for Roses” follow along the same theme of Dey Rey battling with her darker emotions and breaking free from those who wedged themselves between her and the life she wanted to live. Especially in “Violets for Roses”, we see the idea of a lover taking advantage of their shared wealth and trading in the “violets” that Lana had always held dear for the finer things he couldn’t attain on his own. 

Arguably the most remarkable track from Blue Banisters is “Dealer”. Featuring the voice of Miles Kane to start, the novelty of “Dealer” comes from the striking vocals delivered by Del Rey midway through. We’re used to her hitting all the right notes on a more mellow key, but as Lana said herself in an interview “People don’t know what it sounds like when I yell. And I do yell.” And yell she did. “Dealer” offers a vocal range unheard of for LDR and the combination of that with the frustration embedded in her lyrics makes for an ideal scream-in-the-car anthem for when life “gives you nothing back”.

“Thunder” is an equally unique song (and my personal favorite) as it upholds a livelier tone as Del Rey tells us how she breaks off from a relationship with a two-faced man, knowing he’d been planning to leave her all along. It’s one of the more catchy songs from the album, and while still telling a story and giving a look into Del Rey’s strength, “Thunder” reminds you midway in the album of the ease Lana has with matching words to a beat. 

The next three songs all provide more depth into previous themes on the album. “Wildflower Wildfire” about Del Rey’s desire to have a wild relationship that doesn’t burn up like they have in the past. “Nectar of the Gods” refers back to the duality between how she desired her life to pan out versus losing some of those wishes as she lived through her dreams. And “Living Legend”, is an ode to her first mentor Jane Powers, who loved Lana for who she was aside from any of her fame, features some of the most emotive vocals from Del Rey yet, with an equally raw guitar riff to match.

Next, “Cherry Blossom” was dubbed a lullaby by Del Rey back in 2016 and it’s an angelic tribute to a daughter she’s yet to have, dictating how she hopes to be the kind of mother her own failed to be. 

Finally, “Sweet Carolina”, a song written about/with Del Rey’s father and sister is a heartfelt ballad for Lana’s sister, Caroline “Chuck” Grant. A kind, genuine sonnet, “Sweet Carolina '' is a love song to end all love songs, and a perfectly authentic way to end Blue Banisters. By depicting love so true for someone other than a romantic partner, listening to the distinctive lyrics reminds us to give the one that popped into mind a call. 

It’s clear that Lana Del Rey has flourished as a person and finally wants to share the details of who she is with us. By featuring the Lana Del Rey vocals we know and love while offering a depth to her never seen before, Blue Banisters truly shows that Lana can “turn blue into something beautiful”.