“Chemtrails Over the Country Club” fails to utilize the vocal range of Lana Del Rey. The album, which is Del Rey’s seventh, has a bunch of good songs on it, but there are some that just don’t deliver. Lana Del Rey is known for her amazing singing voice, and she makes sure people know she’s still got it — mostly.
Most of the songs are great spectacles of Del Rey’s voice and her lyrical style. The theme of the album could be about the double standards women face in society. Each of these pieces can create a perfect album, but they don’t fit quite well.
This album is good lyrically, but without good music, lyrics falter. From the very beginning, it starts with quiet music and loud vocals, which isn’t bad because vocals need to be heard, but the music is just too quiet. Quiet music makes the vocals seem too loud and overpowering to the ears.
The sounds of this album are very slow and don’t have much buildup behind the vocals, without the vocal changes like those found in the song “Chemtrails Over the Country Club,” there would be no indication of a chorus or next verse; the music seems like one long verse. Most of the songs on the album fit this style, but there is one song, “Yosemite,” that has a sense of gradual buildup with a cue, which is usually indicative of a drop or sound change, but leads to nothing changing.
The best songs on this album are “Chemtrails over the Country Club” and “Tulsa Jesus Freak.” These songs embody the great sound of Lana Del Rey and are the best of the singles released. Both songs try to keep this album floating, each one adding its own sound to the album. The title track is just a beautiful song that focuses on the vocals of Del Rey, while “Tulsa Jesus Freak” is more lyrical in nature, focusing on her experiences of living in the Midwest.
The song that doesn’t work on this album is “White Dress.” This song is very nasally and high pitched; Lana Del Rey’s voice is amazing, so why hold it back in this way? The vocals are quiet but harsh, two different sounds clashing together.
This album sounds incomplete and unfinished. The sounds she produced in this album seem to be limited compared to her usual albums. It feels like she is not trying as hard or like she is be limited compared to what she could do. This album should have been worked on more to utilize the vocal capacity of Del Rey.
“Chemtrails Over the Country Club” could have been a great album, but with the way these songs were made, it doesn’t meet expectations. “Chemtrails Over the Country Club” at first glance seemed like an impressive album, but the opening song ruins the entire experience. This album was brought down by songs that just don’t sound that good or change pace, and not even the best songs from this album can keep it afloat.
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