Ultraviolence by Lana Del Rey
Ultraviolence is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey, released on June 13, 2014 by UMG Recordings. Despite originally dismissing the possibility of releasing another record after her major-label debut Born to Die (2012), Del Rey began planning its follow-up in 2013. Production continued into 2014, at which time she heavily collaborated with Dan Auerbach to revamp what she initially considered to be the completed record. The project saw additional contributions from producers including Paul Epworth, Greg Kurstin, Daniel Heath, and Rick Nowels. Ultraviolence received positive reviews from contemporary music critics, who commended its cohesion as a concept album, and its overall production. It debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 182,000 copies, becoming Del Rey's first number-one album on the chart and the best-selling debut week of her career. Ultraviolence was preceded by the digital release of four singles, "West Coast", "Shades of Cool", "Ultraviolence" and "Brooklyn Baby". On December 1, 2014, she announced The Endless Summer Tour featuring shows with Courtney Love.
For the most part, Lana Del Rey’s fifth album is quintessentially her: gloomy, glamorous, and smitten with California. But a newfound lightness might surprise longtime fans. Each song on <i>Lust</i> feels like a postcard from a dream: She fantasizes about 1969 (“Coachella - Woodstock In My Mind”), outruns paparazzi on the Pacific Coast Highway (“13 Beaches”), and dances on the H of the Hollywood sign (“Lust for Life” feat. The Weeknd). She even duets with Stevie Nicks, the queen of bittersweet rock. On “Get Free,” she makes a vow to shift her mindset: "Now I do, I want to move/Out of the black, into the blue.”
