Lana Del Rey’s 4th studio release Honeymoon has arrived and with it comes a new collection of songs to listen to while getting caught in the rain with no umbrella, and/or mine to populate your next breakup mixtape. Pop’s princess of darkness made a damn good LP and while there were a bunch of tracks you’ll want to put on repeat, we can only pick 5 that can stand above the rest as the real highlights of this album.
See our picks for the 5 best tracks on Honeymoon below.
“God Knows I Tried”
Lana turns the spotlight on her own troubles, referencing the personal hell that The Eagles’ classic “Hotel California” portrays. Lana speaks of how fame brings her down (“On Monday they destroyed me/But by Friday I’m revived“) and how she doesn’t have much to live for because of it, embracing the thought of getting lost within this madness. Even though the track’s finale is simply a repetition of just a handful of lines, those words sound more and more personal and convincing the more you hear her cry “God knows I tried.”
“High By The Beach”
Another name for this track could very well be “Zero Fucks.” Del Rey shuns her lover as she sings about preferring to get high by the beach rather than going along with his bullshit and staying in that relationship any longer. The man may talk a big game, but that doesn’t make her flinch one bit as she knows she’s a badass chick who’s got her own fame and talent to provide for whatever she may want or need.
“Religion”
The chorus in this track is everything. The verses and pre-chorus set up a scenario in which the couple has absolutely nothing to worry about as all cards are aligned perfectly, at which point Lana expresses her all-encompassing devotion to her man. The words are simple, but claiming your love interest is your religion needs no further explanation. Plus, you’ll be hard pressed to come up with a better, more sensuous line than “When I’m down on my knees, you’re how I pray.” That’s love!
“24”
Perhaps the most sonically-pleasing song on this whole album. The track builds up beautifully from its frail intro into a burst of instrumentation. The marching style percussion with the Spanish music undertones are the perfect foundation for Lana’s disparaging remarks about her lying love interest (I particularly love the line: “if you lie down with dogs, then you’ll get fleas/Be careful of the company you keep“). After the humming leads in a richer accompaniment for the final minute, that’s when you can hear the track really kick into 5th gear. The dramatic halt for the outtro gives the song more character, making the experience that much more complete. It’s like a short film playing out its life within the 5 minutes of the track.
“Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” (Nina Simone cover)
The moment news arrived that Lana was covering the legendary Nina Simone on this album it instantly became one of the must-hear tracks of Honeymoon. Luckily for us all, this cover doesn’t disappoint. The tribute was very un-Lana-like, in that it ditches the film noir soundtrack aesthetic that we love from the singer’s original work, and instead this version was rather sweet and unequivocally beautiful in so many ways. The music features softer strings and there’s something wonderful about how the stroke of a guitar holds the reins of this song’s sound, while the harpsichord (or what sounds like one) lines are the perfect accent.
Dopeness Factor
3.5
Order the album here.
