Chemtrails Over the Country Club Review

In mid-March, singer Lana Del Rey released her seventh studio album titled Chemtrails Over the Country Club. Just like her 2019 release titled NFR, Chemtrails is produced by Jack Antonoff. Antonoff is known to work with several other powerhouse female artists such as Taylor Swift, Lorde, and Pink. Chemtrails is one of Del Rey’s shorter albums featuring 11 songs. Del Rey first teased the release of the album in September of 2020 and later released her first single titled “Let Me Love You Like a Woman”. The piano ballad won favorably high critic reviews but was criticized for sounding similar to her previous record. Several months later, the Born to Die singer released her title track for the album as her last single. Lana introduced her album cover on January 10th, 2020, on Instagram with the caption “there’s always turmoil and upheaval and in the midst of it, there’s beautiful music too”. 

Upon the first listen, the song that stood out was her first track on the album titled “White Dress”. Del Rey’s hushed and whispery voice stands out amongst the production tied with her quickly sung lyrics. Lana has noticeably strayed from her Born to Die era switching from strings and grand production to a folkier sound. Chemtrails is an easy listen that features a flare of country and folk paired with an Americana sound. Compared to her 2019 release, Lana features three artists on the album. Nikki Lane is featured on track nine titled “Breaking Up Slowly”, and on the last track, “For Free” alternative artists, Zella Day and Weyes Blood are featured. 

After a year of controversy surrounding COVID-19 mask safety and feminism, the backlash appears to have little effect on the singer. In Chemtrails, Lana sings about her life pre-career, love, and staying true to herself. The “Young and Beautiful” singer had notable influences from iconic artists such as Joni Mitchell and The Beatles. Although not her best album, Chemtrails is Del Rey’s most delicate-sounding album. The soft piano and guitar strings make for an easy listen, and the airy vocals give a dream-like sound. On track eight, titled “Yosemite”, soft drums in the background are a far cry from Del Reys older sound. Chemtrails is Del Reys happiest and most authentic sound. 

The album cover pictures the Grammy-nominated singer smiling amongst her group of friends. After receiving criticism for what appeared to be a lack of diversity on the cover Del Rey clapped back stating, “we are all a beautiful mix of everything- some more than others which is visible and celebrated in everything I do”. The content of this album is quite different from her previous albums, where she sang about addiction and abusive relationships, which she has also been heavily criticized for. Although she appeared to shake the hate off as Lana appears at peace and her happiest on her latest album. 

A bit more than a month after the release of Chemtrails, the singer made an Instagram post detailing a new album that she titled Rock Candy Sweet. The Instagram post led to the confusion of fans when Lana later said the album would be titled Blue Banisters, and she released a snippet of the title track. Along with the video clip she captioned it, “I’m writing my own story. And no one can tell it but me”. The teaser appeared to have a similar sound and production as her last two albums, which left fans slightly disappointed. Many fans and critics poked fun at her Blue Banisters album art, which looked less than professional. 

The “Video Games” singer appears to be at her happiest on her seventh studio album titled Chemtrails Over the Country Club. Del Rey still had hints of her 2012 traditional sound with toned-down production. Producer Jack Antonoff dazzled on the record as he did with Del Reys Previous album. Perhaps not Lanas strongest album, but without a doubt her most authentic true-to-self writing yet.