After listening to Lana Del Rey's Born to Die over the weekend, I have to say, as usual, Sasha Frere-Jones nails the thinkpiece so we don't have to. I felt the need to give this woman, who's already been unnecessarily dissected, a chance. She does have a great voice, I just don't know if she'll ever get a chance to develop beyond it. Says SFJ:
"Her invocations of Sinatra and Lolita are entirely appropriate to the sumptuous backing tracks, but, when it comes to lyrics, she and her collaborators get lost in a tangle of keywords."
Yes. The backdrop is there, but not the dialogue. It bothers me that her "authenticity" is being called into question on the regular, but it baffles me that she seems to be the only artist anyone is talking about right now. I guess that's the point? Let's consider a few other ladies with new(ish) albums who are worthy of your time.
Lower Dens Houston's own Jana Hunter has really found her stride with Baltimore band Lower Dens. Latest album Nootropics is out May 1 and "Brains" is the first taste.
Lianne La Havas This young London soul singer just signed to Warner Bros. to release her debut this year, at which point she'll probably be collaborating with everyone.
Lydia Loveless She was just in town, and last year's Indestructible Machine was a real door-kicker for someone who's just 21 years old. Her voice is something else, too.
Chelsea Wolfe The L.A. singer's "Mer" from last year's Apokalypsis goes straight-up PJ Harvey.
Sharon Van Etten Her new album Tramp comes out next week, following up 2010's flawless Epic. "Give Out" is one of the new tracks.
