Lana’s Ocean Blvd is an ‘intimate epic’
‘Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under
Ocean Blvd,’ by Lana Del Rey (Interscope Records)
Lana Del Rey is a complicated, enigmatic pop star — since the height of her breakout album, “Born to Die,” the singer has been labeled one of the best songwriters of her generation. Her songs tell stories of dark, wistful American glamour, yearning for a dangerous time in our history with glimmers of redhot, toxic infidelity-riddled romances and an audaciously psychedelic allure.
“Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd” is the next mega storytelling adventure for the singer-songwriter — she cuts deep into her fears, future and family instead of longing for things that aren’t hers to dream about. This time, she’s enduring the human experience in the real world — not a pretend one.
The lengthy, 16-song album explores themes of spirituality with religious undertones featuring gospel singers in “The Grants” and an interlude with Pastor Judah Smith, the leader of a controversial celebrity megachurch, Churchome. She also features Grammy award-winning uber talent Jon Batiste on “Candy Necklace” and “Jon Batiste Interlude,” producer-musician and Del Rey’s most frequent collaborator, Jack Antonoff, as his moniker Bleachers, and Father John Misty (“Let The Light In”).
Del Rey sings melancholically about her impermanence in the album’s title track, “Don’t forget me/ Like the tunnel under Ocean Boulevard.” On another album single, “A&W,” co-written and produced by Antonoff, the singer gorgeously speaks to the experience of a liberated woman who wears a metaphorical scarlet letter on her chest. She examines the paradox of liberation and the condemnation sexually liberated women face as the result of their agency.
“Fingertips,” allows Del Rey to slowly ponder in a dreamy, strings-heavy ballad about her family, death and legacy: “Will I die? Or will I get to that 10-year mark?/Where I beat the extinction of telomeres?/ And if I do, will you be there with me, Father, Sister, Brother?”
“Paris, Texas,” featuring SYML, feels and sounds like a lullaby, Del Rey whispering about wanderlust, scouring the world for a place to call home. “When you’re home, you’re home (Venice, California),” she sings in her breathy vocals.
“Grandfather please stand on the shoulders of my father while he’s deep-sea fishing,” is another fairytale-like ballad that dissects Del Rey’s public image and legacy. She opens the profound song with the lyrics, “I know they think that it took somebody else/ To make me beautiful, beautiful/As they intended me to be/But they’re wrong.”
Other brights spots include “Margaret” featuring Bleachers — it is simply a larger-than-life love song about fated true love written for Antonoff about his relationship with actress Margaret Qualley. In a typical Antonoff and Del Rey production, the song is still and stripped back until it waits for a burst of bells and trumpets in the outro.
The wandering hour-long album closes with “Taco Truck x VB” a dark ballad. Sampling her own work shows Del Rey doesn’t have anything to prove in “... Ocean Blvd,” she’s never sounded more succinct and brazenly herself.
The wandering hour-long album closes with “Taco Truck x VB” a dark ballad. Sampling her own work shows Del Rey doesn’t have anything to prove in “... Ocean Blvd,” she’s never sounded more succinct and brazenly herself.
“Red Moon in Venus,” Kali Uchis (Geffen Records)
Kali Uchis’ new studio album, “Red Moon in Venus,” follows her Grammy-nominated Spanish-language album that was released in 2020. Since then, Uchis had multiple wins at the Billboard Latin Music Awards and “Telepatía,” an album highlight, was a multi-week Billboard chart topper.
Uchis is an R&B artist who isn’t afraid to lean into her signature vibe, which can only be described as soft, ethereal and fully femme. The record’s femmeforward tone starts with “in My Garden…” where the listener is transported to a fantasy land with wind chimes and birds chirping.
“I Wish you Roses” is the first single and second track on the album. The song follows the narrative of the album, which is love and its nuances. The song is about releasing people with love, rather than resentment: “But I wish you love, I wish you well/I wish you roses while you can still smell ’em.”
Uchis blends R&B seamlessly with soul and funk in tracks like “Blue,” where smooth saxophones sound off with a slow groove. She also beautifully weaves Spanish and English in multiple tracks, a standout being “Como Te Quiera Yo.”
The album showcases Uchis’ unique voice with slow R&B beats that highlight the soft quality of her voice. “Deserve Me,” featuring Summer Walker, holds true to the steady R&B arrangement but weaves in Uchis’ breathy voice. Uchis closes the album with a more upbeat vibe in “Happy Now,” where she embraces beats that are reminiscent of sweet melodic pop.
Also: WASHINGTON, DC: When Joni Mitchell finally took the stage near the end of an all-star tribute concert honoring her as this year’s recipient of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, she opted to perform a cover rather than one of her own songs.
The 79-year-old music legend leaned against the piano as she crooned a sultry version of “Summertime,” the popular tune from George Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess,” an appropriate choice since the award was named after the composer.
But she wasn’t done. The evening’s other performers came to the stage and surrounded Mitchell as she launched into one of her more popular tunes, “The Circle Game.” Graham Nash, James Taylor, Ledisi, Cyndi Lauper, Herbie Hancock, Marcus Mumford, Brandi Carlile and others brought the crowd to their feet in an evening filled with love and admiration. (AP)