Chemtrails Over The Country Club

I'm not sure how any album released less than 10 months ago can make it onto any list of albums you must hear before you die. One dimensional and bland

Ah, Lana. I feel like I should like her. I enjoy a lot of artists that get consistently compared to her, such as Lorde. I go in with an open and hopeful heart every time. And I am disappointed, every time. It’s like she knows how to make a melody anti-catchy. If she wanted an ear worm, it sounds like the early bird already up and got hers. It is so overproduced, glistening until slimy as if it were slathered in Vaseline. For an album that seems to want to craft some sense of intimacy, it does more to distance itself. Her voice always sounds so drab, so bored. I get that’s part of her style, but her flavor of lazy singing and affected style is grating. It’s like an insecure teenager that puts every effort they can into not looking like they put effort into their appearance. I’m not saying every moment here was dreadful. Dark But Just a Game was a consistently okay song, the bridge to Dance Til We Day gave some desperately needed energy to the album, and For Free had some dazzling harmonies. This album did have good moments. But man, I ain’t gonna dig through shit for a couple of corn kernels, you know?

It's obvious that she's a good songwriter, and there's not a bad song here, but literally no one wants to listen to 11 crooning ballads in a row. Just set up some drums and hit the snare on 2 & 4 sometimes!

Just bland. Is this mumblecore? Are all the children of wealthy parents so bored-sounding?

Very good album. Probably my favorite of Lana's to date; however I don't think it should be here yet. I think a 5 year wait minimum to see if it passes the test of time. Just my 2 cents.

Alright. I was totally wrong about Lana Del Ray. This album is great. I look forward to revisiting everything she's ever done. 5 stars for changing my mind about something.

Wasn't expecting to like this very much but it was surprisingly good. Very hypnotic voice. Sort of a one-trick pony, but it's a very good trick. Can't really listen for too long though - doesn't take too long before the trick becomes very repetitive.

This was a hard album to rate. Each song–on its own–was quite good. But Lana seems to be a bit of a one-trick pony and her sleepy croon is delightful only in small doses. Every song sounds so very similar to the last that the album quickly starts to blur into a long, underwater sleepwalking session. There are moments when her voice echoes the effortless charm of Billie Eilish but she never manages to summon the emotional intensity that makes Eilish so compelling. Lana seems to be content to sit back and take the easy route. Consequently, she never quite hits the greatness that seems to lurk in the wings, just behind the curtain of her sleepy vocals.

I know it's a total fabrication but I like her 50's LA sad girl charade, probably because I associate Lana with a shortt lived relationship in 2012. Let's call her Lana. Lana introduced me to Lana. The relationship was fun because Lana was slightly too cool for me, so I never got complacent. Now Lana is an entrepreneur and a mom and sings "downatah-menamusic-BIZ-ness conference". The vibe doesn't work as well. This album feels post-coital. I nodded off while driving on I5. C+

A surprisingly good and interesting album. I’d never listened to Lana before this but knew she was popular. I will be listening again!

An odd selection unless there are multiple Lana Del Rey selections. I believe Norman Fucking Rockwell!! is a far better release. This is a decidedly smaller album, with a somewhat Americana feel that puts a focus on her formidable singer-songwriter skills. She is all over the place here, meaning she touches upon various parts of the country in pursuing her vision. Her evolution as a songwriter is consistently impressive. In many ways she shares a similar trajectory as Taylor Swift (albeit from different starting points). And, both have Jack Antonoff in their work group, which is an enormous asset.

I assume this is something of a diversity pick - the curator wanted something from 2021, so they picked something. Now, the obvious solution is - if there aren't any good CDs from 2021, then don't pick any. My personal opinion is that no strong rock CDs have been released since 2019 (I'm writing this in 2022) but I'm not monitoring every genre. Let's start with Lana's voice. It's extremely weak. If you're an apologist you could say breathy, thin, range-bound and timid is the aesthetic she's going for. I'm not - compare her vocals with Grace Potter or (even closer) Emily Haines from Metric. Haines can do Lana's style better than she can but then can also open up and just belt it, and I think she probably has more range on the high end too (low end is a foregone conclusion). I don't know if Lana can't really sing, but the fact of the matter is that on this CD, she doesn't. She starts to open it up a bit on "Let Me Love You Like a Woman" and "Wild at Heart" but doesn't keep it up. Then there's the pace. This CD is extremely slow and down-beat, and never gets above about a 3-out-of-10 on the excitement scale. The easiest way to put together a good pop CD is to have a great lead singer. Failing that, be fast, fun, and loud. If you don't do either of those things, you're in a really tough position - the last recourse is to have genius composition and production. This CD ain't it. It's pretty basic singer-songwriter stuff. Half the songs sound like demos. Easily the most sophisticated composition is the Joni Mitchell cover (also probably the best song overall), and that adds basically nothing on the production side relative to Mitchell's version, it's pretty much a by-the-books cover.

i love lana. i have nothing bad to say for this album. i haven’t listened to the full album in so long but i’m glad i got to sit down and go through it again. this is definitely one of my favorites from her

Trophy: Lana Unlocked Lana has always been difficult for me to listen to, but tonight changed everything. I had always heard from her fans that she was such a soulful and melancholy singer, but I always just heard a bored drone. Then it hit me: that is exactly correct. She is droning and she is not energized. But plenty of instruments make that sound. So as I listened to this, I let her fade into the mix like an instrument, and what emerged was a sorrowful and melancholy masterpiece.

Thursday, tech at work, get some stuff done, quesadillas and lana and more sad albums, people over to chill, mr jellybean, back porch, 11:11, awk invited, oh good day: alvvays tixs cheap, boots, invites

It's been way too long since I listened to Lana Del Rey, although I really like her and used to listen to her quite a bit. I hadn't heard this album or the previous one yet actually, so I was excited to dive in. It turned out to be the treat I hoped it would be! This album feels musically much more mature than her previous ones which can be both a good thing and a bad thing. Overall, the quality of this album is high throughout. Ethereal, light and beautiful compositions set the background for Lana's iconic as well as laconic voice. On the flip side, there are no immediately catchy potential hits along the lines of Young And Beautiful. This is an album to listen to as an album instead of picking out a couple of greats for playlists and ignoring the chaff. I can't say for sure if I prefer mature or developing Lana Del Rey more. But this was a great listening and I'll go ahead and enjoy her 2019 album next.

This was totally new to me. I liked it a lot. Breathy, high, floaty, but then the odd whiff of Joan Baez.

Surprised to see such a recent album in the list - and not entirely sure why. Not great, not terrible.

Lana is not my usual listening. But my kid has been listening to her for a long time. If he thinks she's great, then she's probably great. Solid album. Great vocals. I enjoyed this one.

Objectively 4.5

Super !

This one finds me in a tough position-- I absolutely love Lana, like I'm the type of fan who will stay up until midnight for new releases and stuff like that. I've been following her trajectory for over 10 years! And I do personally like this album and have probably listened to it hundreds of times at this point, so for that I give it a 5 because I'm a stan. However, I don't really agree with the inclusion of this album on the list. If you're unfamiliar with Lana and this is your first foray into her work, I really recommend checking out more worthy choices for the list, like NFR (her magnum opus), Honeymoon or Ultraviolence. Even her first album, Born to Die, is very flawed but has also had a lot of impact on the last 10 years of pop. I love Chemtrails but I think most fans consider it a valley in her discography-- one that has plenty of worthy peaks for this list.

So Lana Del Rey is actually pretty good now?

Modern day classic

Sad boi music

Really like it

lovely lyrics, soothing rhythms. very enjoyable

Don't like this much as the other Lana albums. The super high-pitched voice that enters into these songs is grating. I appreciate the range, but it's hard to listen to for an entire album and breaks up what are otherwise quite pleasing songs. All that said, I appreciate the melodic setting of Lana's albums - they are like floating on a cloud. Until you come crashing down because of the high-pitched squeal, of course.

I like LDR. I bought the Born to Die album back 2012. I feel I was conned though. Lured in by the siren call. Thats probably massively sexist. Is it a bit style over substance? She's got hooks, the production is gorgeous. Its all a bit breathy, sad, 50s pastiche with edgy lyrics. This is similar. (Also, this is 7 (seven) albums in! SEVEN.) Its also probably too soon too soon to claim its one of the top 1000 albums when its only 2 years old. Don't know really. 3.5 Norman Fucking Rockwell is better.

I love female vocalists. I love the minimalist instrumentation. I love the breathy whispering but it should not have a hall reverb or doubled lead vocal. I enjoy Lana's voice when it's not over processed. I hate the canned beats and ambiance pads with an intimate song. The song "Dance Till We Die" is probably my favorite but it doesn't save this collection of tunes. This is a producer failure. Lana should get a do over and let Rick Nowels do the whole thing and keep herself and Jack Antonoff out of it.

My buddies, let's have a look at the state of secretary rock in 2021. For those who don't know, secretary rock is music made for secretaries: tasteful, acoustic, worthy, romantic, unerotic, shallow, dull. My review of Tracy Chapman's Tracy Chapman goes more into the definition, so look that up if you're curious. A glance at the influences section on Lana Del Rey's Wikipedia page should cause a wariness to build. Her stated tastes as all presentable, all predictable, all mainstream, nothing even fleetingly left-field: Billie Holliday, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Britney Spears, Eminem, Amy Winehouse. Only Courtney Love provokes a quizzical huh, and that's scarcely for the audacity of the choice. And that respectability represents one of the main faults of the album: it's scared to draw or even stir blood. At one point she proclaims to be "wild at heart," which leads the listener what her devilish streak is capable of. Making a coffee with milk that's on its use-by date? Writing the word butt in her diary (which definitely has a pony on the cover)? Sleeping until 9 a.m. on a Sunday? Her parents must be so disappointed. Another issue is the uniformity. Almost every song sounds identical, with the same plucked guitar, the same tapped piano, the same overprocessed voice (the vocal affectations may seriously aggravate). This ties in to the album's tastefulness: it refuses to gamble, so every song gravitates to the same humdrum model. Also, it's impossible not to notice how often the lyrics don't scan, with compressed lines and laboured metres. The second half almost redeems the album, where Lana takes a stroll towards Americana, and she finds one or two good songs (or in some cases, snippets of songs). But I can't decipher the grand message of this album. It seems to comprise a series of vignettes which don't convey anything deep and just describe everyday scenes in Lana's life. Is Lana so interesting that her meeting her friends for a beer deserves poetic commemoration? I'd say no.

This is a complete knee jerk inclusion that does not merit being anywhere near this list.

Bland background music.

So not into this weepy whiny drivel.

Może 4.5

This is just a great album title. This is the type of album that you don't even realize you are listening to in a loop.

😍

I'm on board with Lana Del Rey. Though she absolutely has a beautiful voice, i can understand that her super soft lilty whispering siren delivery is not everyone's cup of tea. There's at least 4 of her albums I like more than this one, but there are still some wonderful songs here. Chemtrails and Let Me Love You stand out for me. Parts of it get a little samey by the end.

Really great album for today. Will listen to this again...

Second listen. I enjoyed the album much more the second time around and it will definitely grow from there. Very smooth, has an old-school sound yet modern, quite beautiful. Glad to see a recent album on here. Fav tracks: White Dress, Chemtrails, Dark, Yosemite

She's a favourite artist of my daughter's but I hadn't listened to her before. Beautiful, I enjoyed this (and Norman Fucking Rockwell, which my daughter said was better)

Much better than I expected.

I liked it more than I thought I would. Surprised that a 2021 album is on the list though.

I'm a casual Lana Del Rey fan, only this year gone through her whole discography. I enjoyed this album, and have gone through it all a couple of times. I feel like there were songs I liked more than others e.g. White Dress, and so I revisit these songs more often. All in all a good album though.

this was more fun than i'd expected. i wasn't familiar at all, and i was honestly expecting some kinda lame pop-bubblegum whatever, but that's not what this album is.

Damn. Am I a Lana Del Rey fan now?

So I found yesterday that the list has been updated and it actually is a bit longer than 1001, cool, we’ll be here for a bit longer! Now the album: Lana keeps on pushing forward with her music if not her themes, her singing is more variable even if this album in particular is a bit monotonous. It is a beautiful recording although my favorite one by her is the more vivid Lust For Life. Now how can an album that was published only 6 months ago be on the list? Don’t get me wrong I loved the record but it has to make an impact! I could argue that Ultraviolence or NFR! Are better, or even Lust for Life just because it is my favorite. This album is here because the impact of Lana in modern music and could easily leave the list in future editions, I wished the curation of the list would be less reactive and more thoughtful, this is not the (only) Lana album you have to listen before dying. Hope the list now includes albums that have been left out since previous editions and not only new ones from 2018 to now (for example: Like Clokcwork by QotSA)

First listen: I don’t get why people dislike Lana Del Rey so much. This is a pretty good record. Second listen: Ok, I can get why people might not like this.

I'm surprised this album is here. As a Lana fan, this has always been my least favorite project of hers. Sure the album is great lyrically and there are some nice songs, but for the most part, the production takes any fun out of it. Jack Antonoff has a tendency to drain the melodic uniqueness out of artists and this album is just another casualty.

It's amazing what a carefully constructed persona and a daddy with a record label can do. I liked the original version of Stoned at the nail salon.

Look, I didn't exactly hate it, but Chemtrails over the Country Club just wasn't for me. There are some good songs, which surprised me as I never really rated Lana Del Rey before. The most notable song being White Dress. Unfortunately the rest of the album mostly sticks to a flat tone which gets boring fast. I guess the monotone, low husky vocals are Lana Del Rey's raison d'etre and she does a great job of it but it isn't for me. I do find Lana Del Rey alarmingly pretentious and this album with the exception of White Dress that is very much on display. Jack Anton as producer off gets a special mention. This album does sound pretty good but I can't work out if he is a genius bringing artists to new heights or a scourge, banding out what could have been fun and interesting. I posit this because in the gaps between Lana's voice I could've been listening to Taylor Swift or Lorde. Whatever works for them, I guess

Blehhhhhhh

Is pop not supposed to be catchy? 2/5

Meh... kind of dull and boring. Not a whole lot of range here, everything was sonically the same. 2.5/5

Far out this is a boring album. All songs sound the same

Too slow and quiet for me.

I didn't hate it, but why is this on the list? It's not even been a year since this album's released. This is just a regular folk album (my 5th folk album in the past 7 days, please stop giving me folk albums) that will inevitably be forgotten by the test of time. Nothing stood out, everything was very average, almost to the point where it seemed like they were trying to be average.

Überproduziert, zu glatt, unauthentisch, langweilig

I don't think I could possibly come up with a less interesting album if I tried

Super slow, wispy voice. Not a fan.

Really didn’t like this. Too many airy & breathy love songs that all sound the same. Not creative or interesting musically. Too heavy on vocals.

I skipped every song. Fuck Lana and her whisper depressing songs.

I don't take the right medication for this.

"Norman Fucking Rockwell" and "There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Boulevard" are both unquestionable 5* albums. This one is just a 4.5+. Lana is underappreciated. 4.5+/5

MY BABYYYY I DIDNT EXPECT IT TO BE ON THIS LISt automatic 5 sorry if ur mad chemtrails + dbjag my fav songs

very great album, perfect voice, perfekt music

Second best Lana album, that should tell you all you have to know about it

Very relaxing to listen toz

What Taylor Swift should sound like.

Absolutely haunting, but in a weird sort of comforting way. I never really got the hype over Lana, but now I understand why she's so beloved. Very easy 5. (P.S. I almost cried during Wild At Heart.)

I’m at a 4.5 and I’m gonna yet again bump it up to a 5. Truthfully, I was really leaning towards a flat 4 for most of the album, and then something about the last 4 tracks just clicked incredibly well for me and I felt like I just had to bump it up. I obviously know who Lana Del Rey is, but I’ve never heard a single one of her albums in full – she’s been the pop star of the 2010s that I just never really connected to for one reason or another. I know some of her bigger singles, but I’m guessing that I was too focused on pop melodies and choruses to really appreciate her stuff to that degree when I was younger. I feel like I need to go back now, because I really did enjoy this a lot. There’s a lot of Jack Antonoff’s production quirks that permeate this album, and they’re incredibly noticeable on the tracks that sound distinctly like any of Taylor Swift’s more recent stuff. He has a style, and it does work, but I’ll be damned if it’s not starting to feel sterilized & homogenized across all the singers he works with. However, as the album moves on, settles in, and truly gets its identity across as a “this is how the industry can really fuck with your mental health” album, those production quirks sort of melt away, and I got really encapsulated by her writing and her vocals. God, her vocals are beautiful. Her writing is stellar too – lots of great one-liners throughout here, and really strong imagery. The only reason I was at a 4 for so long is because something felt sort of missing throughout the first 7 tracks of the album – just a little more edge in the vocals or the instrumentation that wasn’t quite there. The last 4 tracks won me over – they just feel like a fully cohesive fit, just one long package that finally kicks in some of that edge and strength that was a real joy to listen to, and properly won me fully over on the entire album. The last track in particular (the Joni Mitchell cover) just solidified it – it’s so thematically fitting to the album, and it just shows me she’s got a real mind for making albums, and not playlists. A lot of these tracks aren’t things you’d typically release as a single, and while a lot of them are “for the girlies,” there’s enough to admire here that I think anyone can pick it up and listen. So, yeah, I really enjoyed it. I gotta give it another listen to try and catch what I might’ve missed on the earliest tracks, but it’s a really, really nice album. It’s no less than a 4, I think. Maybe a 3 if you hate Jack Antonoff’s style, or modern production in general. I’m fine with bumping it up to a 5. As far as it being on the list, I do feel like it popped up a bit too soon – this is a 3-year-old album, but it popped up in the 2021 edition of the book, so I feel like it got its flowers very very quickly and probably bumped something equally as deserving (or maybe it bumped Haute de gamme, good riddance). However, I am glad it’s here if only because I’m selfishly happy I got to listen to it.

Adore

Look how i do this, look how i got this

Любимица.

I get it now

You either love Lana Del Rey or you don’t. I do. I can see why she is so polarizing. I love Norman Feaking Rockwell better, but I’m in love with her. She is always a mood listen, but I could listen to her anytime.

Really enjoyed this one. If you are in the mood, Lana is great. If you are not in the mood, she is boring. I was in the mood today.

I never listened to Lana much before, writing her off as "too sad", but I'm surprised at how much I liked this one. Her voice is quite lovely and the music is beautiful. But be warned, there's no upbeat songs on here so it's maybe not an everyday album

Oh my God is this a beautiful album. Easily the best one so far where I knew none of the tracks. Just plain gorgeous.

This was good, atmospheric, didn’t love every song but did pick a few favourites:wild at heart, CTOTCC and Breaking up slowly.

Not what I would normally listen to, but undeniably an incredibly well made and powerful album.

Enjoyed her sweet angelic voice.

fantastic

Ru kidding? 12/10.

i must spend the summer by the seaside to tend to my health whilst listening to this hauntingly beautiful album on repeat. never before has an artist's vibe matched their vocals so perfectly. the combination is ethereal and calming. it's morose yet relaxing. letting her music wash over you is a lovely experience. i find myself alternating between feeling emotional or being uplifted. and her songwriting! she's evocative in her descriptions and has the listener controlled in her grip.

LOVE THIS ALBUM

Iconic. Not the best Lana album, but great

DOWN AT THE MENINMUSICBUSINESS CONFREEEEEENCEEEE 😩😩😩 white hot foreverrrrrrrr and ever and ever amen 👌👌👌

Wonderful for wine naps

Very much enjoyed

So similar to Norman Rockwell. I think it was more cohesive but sonically so similar at times. I have been re-listening and it is growing on me more and more

In the hushed corridors of the exclusive country club, maid Eloise found solace in Lana Del Rey's haunting melodies. Her fingers danced across polished surfaces as the singer's voice whisked her away from the mundane. In the rhythmic cadence, she escaped the monotony of servitude, entering a dreamscape where troubles melted like wax. Lana's music became her secret refuge, a brief respite from the demands of the privileged. As the notes enveloped her, Eloise reveled in the delirium, a temporary escape from the stark reality she faced daily.

Great arrangements. Enjoyed the lyrics and her voice.

Always happy with Lana.

cool

Echt ein geiles, getragenen, sphärische Album

I've only ever heard a couple of Lana Del Rey tracks, so wasn't sure what to expect. First listen was nice, but didn't set me alight. Second listen was even better, and I've just realised that I've had the record on repeat ALL DAY whilst working. Absolutely in love with the entire thing record. Beautiful stuff. Favourite tracks: all of them, honestly.

Lana Del Rey is my love.

I love Lana Del Rey. This album is amongst her greats.

Lana Del Rey's sense of melodies and utterly reality-bending vocals has so far peaked on Norman Fucking Rockwell!, but this one comes close. Her way of using her voice as an instrument, and the resulting attention to detail in producing and mixing it, is such a joy. Just let it roll over you in wave after wave.