One of the most influential alternative artists of the last decade, Lana Del Rey, has released not one but two albums for 2021. Following the March 19 release of her hit album, “Chemtrails over the Country Club,” the sultry icon also released her latest album, “Blue Banisters,” on Oct. 22.  

“Chemtrails Over the Country Club” is an 11 song album that has a whimsical sound. Listening to it almost feels like you are walking through one of the artist’s dreams as she reflects on herself, her relationships and life. The album opens with “White Dress,” a song that reflects on her time as a 19-year-old waitress working a night shift. This soft song is sticky with nostalgia for a time in the singer’s life where things were more simple for her. While it took me a while to warm up to this song, it ended up being one of the album’s highlights. 

Other highlights include “Tulsa Jesus Freak,” “Dark But Just a Game” and “Yosemite,” with the latter song being a tribute to musical artists of the past, herself included, who created music for fun and for free. “Dark But Just a Game” is a song that ponders the price of fame and Lana’s disillusionment with the Hollywood scene. Her resistance to letting fame change her is evident in this song, as well as others on the album. The dark and passionate “Tulsa Jesus Freak” finds Lana yearning to rekindle a relationship with a past lover – a theme that is evident in many of the singer’s albums. 

While many of the songs off of this album are slow, pretty and reflective, it is actually the upbeat ones that really steal the show in my mind. “Wild at Heart” and “Dance Till We Die” quickly made it into the ranks of my all-time favorite Lana Del Rey songs, which is no easy feat. “Wild at Heart” continues to chronicle the singer’s journey with fame while celebrating her independence and the freedom to be herself. She pleads with listeners that if they are to love her, that they love her because she is wild at heart. “Dance Till We Die” is probably the most revolutionary song off the album and the most different song from the star in recent memory. She stretches her vocals to give a feel-good jam filled with hope and happiness in uncertain times. This song proves that the singer can still do pop while dabbling in jazz as well as other genres, making this one a must listen.  

When I first heard she was releasing another album in the same year, I grew nervous. I was excited but also stressed because I was worried that all of her creative juices were spent on “Chemtrails Over the Country Club,” and that I would be disappointed by an album filled with possible laissez-faire elevator music. In my opinion, any artist who drops two or more albums in a year can run this risk. But Lana is not any artist.  

Instead she graced listeners with 15 tracks that are pure gold. In an Instagram post, Del Rey heralds this album as her story, presumably over the last few years, with the first three songs chronicling what she calls “the beginning.”  

The album opens up with her first single, “Text Book,” which is a slow introspective piece about a relationship that ultimately didn’t work out. Of all of the songs off of “Blue Banisters,” I’ve definitely had to listen to this one the most to fully appreciate it’s soft melodic tones.  

The second track, “Blue Banisters,” like most of Del Rey’s other songs, reads like a journal entry. It references specific events in her life that may seem mundane to some but for her, were clearly impactful, such as her and her friends discussing the California wildfires while swimming in her pool. But the soft pop song has a deeper meaning that explores a new chapter in the singer’s life where she finally feels she may have found some sort of happiness. Still, she sings about a hole in her heart that the women in her life cannot fill, and about a man in her past that still haunts her dreams. 

The third song on the album, “Arcadia,”  is personally my favorite, and Lana Del Rey’s favorite as well! In my opinion, it is the most groundbreaking on the album. Though the singer said that she wrote this song in a hotel room after a breakup, the song focuses mainly on herself and her pursuit of  “arcadia,” or paradise. While the song does reference romance in the traditional sense, it is mostly a love song about Los Angeles with intensely passionate lyrics.  

Other songs on the album that qualify as a must listen are “Black Bathing Suit,” “Thunder” and “If You Lie Down With Me.” Fans of the singer’s older works will appreciate the throwback sound of “If You Lie Down With Me,” which is a song that the writer started to compose with her then boyfriend Barrie O’Neill. Ultimately, the song wasn’t released and was put on the shelf until this year. The wait proved to be well worth it, as the song ended up absolutely beautiful. “Black Bathing Suit” is a playful and cheeky song that makes references to the singer’s love life during quarantine while also oozing confidence and self-acceptance themes that have become prevalent in many of the singer’s recent songs. “Thunder” is a sad break-up song that carries a lot of depth and some of the best lyrics on “Blue Banisters.”  

Lana Del Rey has come a long way and matured greatly from her “Born To Die” era in 2012. Her evolution as an artist has been a rocky one. From being tarnished after her poorly received SNL performance of “Video Games,” to having her integrity come into question regarding how she became famous, to constantly being mislabeled and misrepresented by tabloids, to having her lyrics criticized as not being feminist enough, the artist has been put through the ringer. But it has made her stronger, more confident and, in some ways, more successful than ever before. Still, many find the artist to be underrated, including Taylor Swift. 

Critics of “Chemtrails Over the Country Club” and “Blue Banisters” cringe at some of Del Rey’s lyrics, which reference stores being closed due to lockdowns, BLM protests, gaining coronavirus weight, being tired of the pandemic and feeling happy to see people taking off their masks. But these examples are part of what makes Lana Del Rey one of the most influential artists of the decade and a top artist of 2021. 

These songs reference an extremely unique point in our history that multitudes of people can relate to on so many different levels. Her music is so real, raw and personal. Listening to her albums is very much like reading the artist’s private poetry journal. They can be deep, dark, disturbing, hopeful, cringey or even freeing, but they always give beautiful and honest representations of the human experience without apology.