Lana Del Rey’s eighth studio album was released on all platforms last night. As a follow-up to Chemtrails over the Country Club released in March 2021, Blue Banisters has been highly anticipated by Del Rey’s fanbase for a while; it was teased for full release on July 4th of this year but was delayed due to an unknown reason. 

The title track of this album consists of 15 songs:

    “Text Book”

   “ Blue Banisters”

    “Arcadia”

   “ Interlude- The Trio”

   “Black Bathing Suit”

    “If You Lie Down With Me”

    “Beautiful”

   “ Violets for Roses”

   “ Dealer”

   “ Thunder”

    “Wildflower Wildfire”

    “Nectar of the Gods”

   “ Living Legends”

    “Cherry Blossom”

    “Sweet Carolina”

The album is filled with variety, with songs being piano ballets, such as Arcadia, to songs that incorporate bass and drums, an example being Dealer. Del Rey gave the album experimental aspects that she nails each song perfectly. Before the album’s debut, the alternative artist released three singles off the album on May 20th, 2021, including “Wildflower Wildfire,” “Text Book,” and the title track of the past upcoming album, “Blue Banisters.” Originally, the album was still expected to come out on July 4th, 2021; instead, she announced the album will be delayed and will have the official new release of it to be announced. Following this news, she released the official album cover, as well as the announcement of a single coming shortly. This single was later released under the title “Arcadia,” which was released September 8th, 2021.

This made many of Del Rey’s fans (including me) to anticipate the release of the album, and Del Rey didn’t disappoint. The album gave us a new side of the artist’s abilities, having her strong vocals mimic the instrumentals of an electric guitar in the song “Living Legend,” as well as having one of her strongest belts that earned the song, “Dealer” the popularity it has gotten since the albums release on TikTok. Songs include “Black Bathing Suit,” “If You Lie Down With Me,” “Beautiful,” “Violets for Roses,” “Thunder,” “Cherry Blossom,” and “ Sweet Carolina.” All are songs released on the album’s release that features a piano ballet, but all songs vary with how Del Rey presents them, allowing for the album to carry consistency while the artist experiments with the music she releases.

The album is a very beautiful piece of work, arguably being one of her greatest projects since her Grammy Nominated album in 2019, “Norman F**king Rockwell!” In my personal opinion, I would rank this album a 9.5/10, Del Rey sincerely outdid herself with this project and is one of my favorites the artist has released, as well as “Norman F**king Rockwell!” in 2019, and “Ultraviolence” in 2014, having both albums aspects of soft rock and mellow songs. 

-Song Rankings-

“Dealer” -10/10

“If You Lie Down With Me” -10/10

“Sweet Carolina” -10/10

“Thunder” -9.5/10

“Wildflower Wildfire” -9.5/10

“Living Legend” -9/10

“Black Bathing Suit”-9/10

“Arcadia” -9/10

“Blue Banisters” -8.5/10

“Nectar of the Gods” -8/10

“Cherry Blossom” -8/10

“Textbook” -8/10

“Violets for Roses” -8/10

“Beautiful” -7/10

“Interlude- The Trio” – 6/10

The album is a very beautiful piece of work, arguably being one of her greatest projects since her Grammy Nominated album in 2019, “Norman F**king Rockwell!” In my personal opinion, I would rank this album a 9.5/10, Del Rey sincerely outdid herself with this project and is one of my favorites the artist has released, as well as “Norman F**king Rockwell!” in 2019, and “Ultraviolence” in 2014, having both albums aspects of soft rock and mellow songs.