The 20 Best Songs of 2015

It was borderline impossible, but I managed to scrape together 20 songs released in (or very close to) 2015 that didn't suck big donkey dick. Actually, the songs on this list are some of the best I've heard in years! I guess you can't have great successes without incapacitating failures? In any case, these are the 20 best songs of 2015:

20. Kacey Musgraves-"Biscuits"
Though much of her "Pageant Material" album is loaded with great songs, "Biscuits" still stands above them all because it's instantly memorable, insanely catchy, and just rings true with its message and Kacey's no-nonsense attitude about it all. Plus, who doesn't love biscuits? Haha

19. Jess Glynne-"Don't Be So Hard On Yourself"
Now, there have been PLENTY of self-help songs to come out this decade, but only a few of them were as engaging as this. Jess Glynne is a deep house singer with a deep, smoky voice that invigorates your ears when she sings about giving yourself a break and forging ahead of setbacks and road bumps.

18. Purity Ring-"Heartsigh"
The lyrics are abstract and could mean anything (as is the case with most indie acts like future-pop duo Purity Ring) but the bubbling production and wistful hook put everything into clear perspective. Innovative as it is accessible, "Heartsigh" is what sunny pop should sound like in 2015.

17. Purity Ring-"Push Pull"
A little darker, a little more concrete than "Heartsigh", but "Push Pull" is far more intricate and less laden with frilly sound effects. It's also much more substantial, musically and lyrically, and still manages to cater to the underground while pleasing those in the mainstream looking for a change of pace.

16. Zedd and Echosmith-"Illusion"
Even if it is a little too long, and gets repetitive half-way in, "Illusion" features beguiling vocals from Echosmith (particularly Sydney Sierota), and wonderfully contemplative music to support the lyrics that are straight-forward yet can work in multiple contexts.
 

15. Marina and the Diamonds-"Savages"
Marina Diamandis won the pop game in a lot of respects this year. Taken from her superb third album, "Froot", "Savages" is a brutally honest commentary on modern-day society and really takes a hard look at how violence influences us. Some might call it misanthropic--I call it genius and truthful.
 
14. Kelly Clarkson-"Someone"
It's too bad that her latest chart-topping album "Piece By Piece" didn't get more exposure this year, because it had a handful of really great songs. Take "Someone" for example, an electro-ballad that's burned with soul, once again courtesy of Clarkson's powerhouse voice. Lyrically, it's a little campy, but the general atmosphere of the song elevates it out of Sam Smith territory and into balladeer brilliance.
 
13. Marina and the Diamonds-"Froot"
The title track of her third album, "Froot" is a deliriously fun and insanely catchy slice of pure disco. Donna Summer could have cut it in 1978, or maybe Kylie Minogue after her 2000 modern-pop makeover, but only Marina could muster up the sensual energy needed to fuel this song's carnal pulse. Sexy, provocative, fun: everything Katy Perry wishes she could be.

12. Carly Rae Jepsen-"Run Away With Me"
Her supposed comeback moment didn't make a dent in the US, and it's not hard to see why: "Emotion", her latest album, was big on critical hype but came up short in terms of delivering great pop music (maybe in 1985, but now the nostalgia craze is straight up tiring and nauseating). Still, the lead-off track "Run Away With Me" shows Carly Rae could have made a smash pop record had she kept the grooves as intoxicating as this song, while mining the lands of contemporary pop instead of re-hashing what's been done to death.
 
11. Enya-"The Humming"
The long-awaited return finally happened in late 2015! No one was expecting Enya to change her successful formula, but the subtle alterations in her approach this time around proves that she isn't (and never was) a one-off fad. "The Humming" is one of her best songs ever, jaunting along to a 6/8 meter and describing the origins of the universe. 
 
10. Hilary Duff-"One In A Million"
"Breathe In. Breathe Out.", Hilary Duff's first album in eight years, is what Carly Rae Jepsen's "Emotion" should have been. Hilary has been energized by her long break, and it perfectly shows in the Tove Lo-penned "One In A Million". It has a big, soaring chorus, effervescent beats, and doesn't get grating after repeated listens. It's utterly fresh, suggesting that the real gem pop album was over-looked.
  
9. Carly Rae Jepsen-"Love Again"
Don't let this fool you, "Love Again" is one of only a few great pop songs on "Emotion", even if it still co-opts 80s cheese and synths, its built on a singular ingratiating hook that's backed by production that's not too obsessed with recreating a lost decade. A perfect balance of old and new, music that Jepsen maybe have wanted to make, but didn't fully succeed in.
 
8. Marina and the Diamonds-"Blue"
Back to the disco, "Blue" is a dynamite pop song that never feels to poppy or vying for mainstream credibility. Its light, hooky, and memorable, but it's definitely not disposable fluff. David Kosten's mixture of real instruments and warm synths provides a more unique spin on 80s-indebted pop, proving just how good Marina's "Froot" album is.
 
7. Adele-"Hello"
Is it as great as "Rolling in the Deep" or "Set Fire to the Rain"? No, and nothing on "25" is, but Adele sure knew how to pick a smash comeback single. After three years of Ed Sheeran's snoozing and Sam Smith's whining, the world was in desperate need of a soul-rejuvenation. Adele more than delivered with "Hello", a song that might not be revolutionary but is sturdy and timeless.
 
6. Chvrches-"Afterglow"
Is it possible that a Scottish synth-pop trio could do Enya better than Enya herself in 2015? It's pretty obvious that it's very possible, because Chvrches strip their music to the core, leaving synthesizer keyboards as the only instrument in this stupendously great song. On a sonic level, it's gorgeous, Lauren Mayberry's vocals are strongly emotive, and the production actually builds and decays with the motions of the lyrics. A ballad doesn't have to be static, and Chvrches prove that it can actually be invigorating too.
 
5. Grimes-"Flesh Without Blood"
It turns out an indie-electronic artist would show the mainstream what fun and carefully constructed pop is really all about. Several hooks run throughout the verses and chorus, Grimes' vocals sound assured and confident,  and synths are mixed with heavy guitars that drive the song's anthemic pulse. It's so good, in fact, that how anyone (pop fan or not) could not like it is baffling. 
 
4. Chvrches-"Clearest Blue"
A straight-ahead dance track would've made a bigger splash in 2013, but even now, Chvrches expand on their star-making recipe by adding stronger hooks, diversifying the sonic effects, and once again having the song build to a climax rather than overplay its hand the first couple of seconds in. Much more energetic than anything they've ever done, who knew that Chvrches could even pull off a happy song and not have it sound corny or cliched?
 
3. Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars-"Uptown Funk!"
You were expecting this to be number one, and I can see why. A knockout hook, literally funky beats and production, early-80s sounds mixed with Bruno Mars' contemporary swagger, everything here works together to produce an intoxicating listen. It's been done before, though, so I can't give points on originality, nor can I overlook the immense amount of calculation that went into this (Mark Ronson choosing Bruno Mars, literally one of the biggest stars on the planet right now, and naming a song after a genre of music everyone in the world loves? Yeah, he knew what he was doing here). Still, I'll give credit where credit is due, and "Uptown Funk" is pretty bad-ass, no matter how many times you hear it.
 
2. Grimes-"REALiTi"
Oh Grimes, you think that the demo of this song you released in March 2015 wasn't the best you had to offer this year? Not only is it the best track on "Art Angels", her latest album, "REALiTi" may be on the best pop songs ever released in the 21st century. EDM influences aside, there was nothing else as dreamy, alluring, or enveloping as this song in 2015, and I hope it eventually is recognized as a landmark in 2010s music. 
 
1. Madonna-"Wash All Over Me"
The Queen reigns supreme. It edged out "REALiTi" as the best song this year not because it is more experimental or groundbreaking. It's the best song of the year because it doesn't pander to any trend, throwback or modern, it's consistently moving and resonates far longer than its four minute run-time, the lyrics are philosophical and ring true no matter who you are, and finally someone has the balls to look at the world and realize its flaws are not going to be fixed by ignoring them. "Wash All Over Me" is a song that makes you think; whether or not you agree with doesn't matter, because it demands your attention and really gets under your skin. It's not flimsy like other cheap pop acts this year, it's not asinine or unoriginal, and it's definitely not built on the goal for easy listening and agreement. Madonna has dug back into the existential parts of herself that were already beautiful on "Ray of Light", but in the dreary and shallow landscape of 2015, "Wash All Over Me" is a song that everybody should listen to at least once.

Enya-"Dark Sky Island" Review

Since 2015 was a year in which the mainstream turned to placid and soulless pop, perhaps there was no greater time for Irish siren Enya to return from her castle and deliver her first LP in seven years, "Dark Sky Island". To get the obvious out of the way, it is indeed just as ethereal and sonically rich as every one of her previous albums. After a career spanning three decades, what more was there for Enya to do in the realm of new-age pop? Well, after taking a considerable beating from critics since her "Only Time" sleeper-hit success, she actually takes a look back at her best music, bringing back the purity of "Watermark" and "Shepherd Moons" to prove that her eternally reliable formula is solid, transcendent, and can go toe to toe with the best music of its era. Though elements of her post-2000 work remain--Loxian language, no real instruments (except for a double bass cameo), lyrics with heavy allusions to stars and nature--Enya was savvy enough to push the melody ahead of the multi-vocal tapestry, placing equal emphasis on sound and song. Many tracks, chiefly "The Humming", "Diamonds on the Water", and "The Loxian Gates", revisit the low-slung 6/8 feel of Enya classics such as "The Celts" and "Boadicea", while others like "Echoes in Rain" and "The Forge of the Angels" mine the similar territory of "It's in the Rain" and "The Journey of the Angels" (no one ever said Enya didn't blatantly repeat herself through her career...). Then, there are the few songs that achieve the old-meets-new fusion quite successfully, with the best being "So I Could Find My Way" (though "Astra et Luna" is a close second). While it's playing, there's no denying that "Dark Sky Island" contains some of Enya's most accomplished music in years--it could even convert a few non-believers!-but when the final beat clicks, the sad truth is that a large portion of these songs are just not as memorable as her 90s masterworks. The sound is gracefully soft, the words and production don't push into 80s cheese too much, but aside from the careful construction, nothing else really stands out here. "Dark Sky Island" is one of those records that plays like a record, but loses interest with the consistently subdued atmosphere and soggy tempos. It's a step up from the flimsy "And Winter Came" for sure, but given the sheer pedigree of the artist and production team behind this project, it's hard to not wish that it had strayed from tradition a little. Of course, consistency has always made Enya such an unlikely star, but recapturing the important aspects of her best material on "Dark Sky Island" proves why her early works were her best, which turns this record into a synthesis of career rather than a strong statement of purpose.

Recommended Tracks in Bold:
1. The Humming                 2. So I Could Find My Way         3. Even in the Shadows
4. The Forge of the Angels   6. Echoes in Rain               7. I Could Never Say Goodbye
8. Sancta Maria                     9. Astra et Luna                     10. The Loxian Gates
11. Diamonds on the Water

Adele-"25" Review

Maybe once every decade, a female artist arrives out of nowhere and strikes gold (and then multi-platinum and diamond) with records that shouldn't have been successful given the current mainstream audience. The 80s had Madonna, the 90s had Alanis Morissette, while the 2000s saw Norah Jones skyrocket to ubiquity. And then, despite having been mildly present on the charts a couple years prior, British songstress Adele was elevated from anonymous torch singer to a monumentally profitable diva on her own terms. "21", her star making album, had a lot to do with that, selling 30 million copies globally and picking up seven Grammys because it was that good. In fact, it wasn't just good: it set the pop standard for the next five years. But why did it so? If every album full of break-up songs became a blockbuster like "21", Taylor Swift's income would equal Bill Gates' by now. The truth of the matter, is that Adele deliberately chose to maintain focus on her voice--certainly much better than any of her pop (and even soul) peers--the songs she was singing became a bit inconsequential, since they were catchy and driven by raw emotion, but lose their potency after being played to death and beyond on the radio. It didn't matter, though, because the 2010s was in dire need of someone with more than a pretty face or promotional gimmick, someone who brought a performance to their songs, rather than a vacant reading. That, and quite honestly, it was outstandingly refreshing to see a genuine talent eager to share her music, and not her arrogance, with anybody who cared to listen.

That modesty is what sets up Adele's enormously anticipated third album, "25". Instead of being empowered by her success, Adele scales back her ambition and focuses inward, creating a warm collection of substantial ballads and searing mid-tempo jams. Lead single "Hello" captures this approach better than any other song on "25"; even better actually, because it not only recaptures the intense emotional power of "Rolling in the Deep" or "Chasing Pavements", but it manages to strip the arrangement to its bare minimum, yet still retains that sense of drama that made "21" such an unexpected blockbuster. It's unfortunate, then, when "Hello" ends and the album crawls through the rest of its tracks, because the realization sets in that no matter how hard she tried, Adele was never going to re-create the exact formula that made her last record such an invigorating listen. That doesn't mean "25" is a disappointment, at least when compared to the other pop albums of 2015 that failed to live up to their potential, but it's not a rousing triumph either. And Adele is just fine with that: she coos and wails at will, gives safely written pop from Ryan Tedder and Greg Kurstin much needed personality, and eventually succumbs to writing a song about her son ("Sweetest Devotion", the closest this album gets to matching the quality of "Hello"). Basically, if "21" was Adele's "Thriller", then "25" is her spiritual successor to "Bad": a record that shows an artist becoming a standard-bearer instead of a game-changer. True, Adele was the one who reset the pop standard, but there's an undercurrent of dissatisfaction that runs beneath "25" when taken into consideration that she could have taken her music to new and more unpredictable places, but deliberately chose not to. If that makes this record an unsuccessful sequel to "21", then so be it: it still does justice to Adele's skills as vocalist and cements her superiority among the many British balladeers in the 2010s. Now that she's a star, she's entitled to remind her wannabe peers (ahem, Sam Smith) who does it best.

Recommended Tracks in Bold:
1. Hello                      2. Send My Love (To Your New Lover)       3. I Miss You
4. When We Were Young     5. Remedy                              6. Water Under the Bridge
7. River Lea                             8. Love in the Dark                9. Million Years Ago
10. All I Ask                            11. Sweetest Devotion

Ellie Goulding-"Delirium" Review

In the wake of Adele's success in early 2011, multiple artists from across the pond have had their way with the mainstream US market--Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Marina and the Diamonds, One Direction, Chvrches, Katy B, Disclosure, Calvin Harris--the list is endless, but few of those names were as distinctive in their pure artistry as Ellie Goulding. She recalled the early 2000s when Dido's acoustic/folk leanings mixed with electronic sheen and made an intoxicating sound fit for either the clubs or small cottages in the countryside. Goulding's first two albums "Lights" and "Halcyon" exploited this successful fusion to the hilt, and even when 2013's "Burn" took the re-vamped "Halcyon Days" into a dancier direction, the progression felt natural and unforced. It's not odd to think that Goulding has so much intrinsic quirkiness, that anything she touches bears the stamp of a true individual, like Grimes or FKA Twigs. However, what happens when an artist decides that a niche audience is nice, but anonymity in the mainstream is not? No matter how many times "Lights" or "Burn" were played on the radio (and it was quite a lot, mind you), nobody outside of the UK could really connect those songs with Ellie Goulding, the pop star. She seeks to formally define her sound and rectify the indie-trappings of her earlier work with 2015's "Delirium", an album built to be the sum of Taylor Swift's "1989" and Carly Rae Jepsen's "Emotion". Though "Delrium" is far less 80s-crazy than either of those albums, it never-the-less plays like the chilly, calculated dance-pop of "Shake It Off" or the hard-working bubble-gum of "All That" or "Run Away With Me". This isn't by accident: Goulding recruited Max Martin, the mastermind behind Swift's pop makeover, and Carl Falk, a major collaborator on Jepsen's sophomore set, to be her song smiths this time around, as well as the perennial hit-maker for big budget pop makeovers, Greg Kurstin. 

It may be disarming at first to see a roster of producers that aren't Jim Eliot (though he does contribute to one track, the pretty good "Scream It Out"), but Goulding has had hits with Kurstin and Martin before, and both turned out quite well (the aforementioned "Burn", and 2015's definitive ballad "Love Me Like You Do"). It should come as no surprise, then, to hear "Delirium" as an anthology of sorts; everything going right in pop and dance all condensed into sixteen tracks. Lead single "On My Mind" certainly feels like a Swift anthem, "Holding On For Life" mixes soul with EDM nuance not unlike Jess Glynne, "Don't Need Nobody" could've fit well on AlunaGeorge's debut, and when hip-hop inflected dance isn't at the fore (like in "Keep on Dancin", an ode to Ke$ha perhaps?), then we get more classic Goulding tracks (both "Army" and "Something in the Way You Move" fit perfectly in her back catalog of folk-tronica hits). Although, as diverse as this reads on paper, the unfortunate setback to "Delirium" is that like so many other modern pop albums, any distinctive characteristics in the writing or production have all been scrubbed clean, making each track imperceptible on the first listen. Especially with such a large number of songs here, it's quite frightening trying to discern which hook is which, what songs are products of genuine creativity or just expertly crafted filler. There aren't any tracks here that are sub-par, but even the best tracks feel more like plateaus that mountain peaks. Taken altogether, "Delirium" may not be Goulding's best work, but despite its flaws, you have to admire the fact that she has ambition. Her perpetually unique, airy voice separate this record from the countless other canned and bland LPs of 2015 (here's looking at you, "Mobile Orchestra"). Goulding's peers might be trying to pass off their underwhelming efforts as ground-breaking and state of the art, but "Delirium" rises above them all because there's no pretense that this record is anything but what it really is: fun, simple pop. 

Recommended Tracks in Bold:
1. Intro                                    2. Aftertaste               3. Something in the Way You Move

4. Keep on Dancin                 5. On My Mind                6. Around U

7. Codes                                  8. Holding on for Life      9. Love Me Like You Do

10. Don’t Need Nobody 11. Don’t Panic                 12. We Can’t Move to This

13. Army                              14. Lost and Found     15. Devotion

16. Scream It Out

Demi Lovato-"Confident" Review

Demi Lovato reached new peaks in and beyond 2013, releasing her most successful album "Demi", forming her own record label, becoming a near-predominant presence on radio (no less than four singles from "Demi"her hit the top 40 in the time following its release), and still finding time to foster a relationship, maintaining her advocacy for anti-Bullying and even writing a self-help book for her loyal fans. Surely all of this success has emboldened Demi, and never the one to be subtle, she steps into her fifth album "Confident" with as much swagger and chutzpah as she's entitled to. Max Martin provides the horn-fueled fanfare to the opening title track, where Lovato belts "You had me underrated/What's wrong with being confident?" Clearly, she's fully intent on making a big and bold statement here, which is somewhat validated by lead single "Cool for the Summer", another Martin-helmed banger dedicated to sexual experimentation. The blunt honesty that front-loads "Confident" is invigorating for a while, since it was sadly missing on the more polite "Demi", but the inevitable slow jam stops the action dead in its tracks around the time Iggy Azalea drops a phoned-in verse on "Kingdom Come", and Sirah shoehorns her way into "Waitin for You" but strangely disappears as fast as she came. Even more of a problem is that "Confident" never recovers after the middle of the record incapacitates it, making it a somewhat bewildering experience to listen through. Lovato 's sound has sufficiently severed all ties with her teen-pop past, she's already proven that she possesses a strong set of pipes and vocal range, so it's truly bizarre as to why she doesn't utilize either of these strengths to the fullest extent on "Confident". Even though she wails and shouts through more than half the record, it's unclear as to what she's so impassioned about. The volume of her voice doesn't give her words more power, and unfortunately neither does the production, which is pretty settled in the adult-contemporary lull of smooth melodies and gospel choir affections. Of course there are a couple moments when the subdued production finds a hook and accentuates it, both "For You" and "Lionheart" present a perfect blend of vocal prowess, understated beats, and catchy lyrics. Most of the time though, "Confident" is demure, very much unlike the one-two sucker punch of its starting tracks. Not that there's necessarily anything wrong with modesty, but Demi has already given us gems like "Skyscraper" and "Give Your Heart a Break", both of which played to the pop sound but were undoubtedly vehicles for showcasing her talents as an artist and singer. It certainly takes talent to keep eleven songs so focused and cohesive, but considering that most of that material is designed to be agreeable, not profoundly innovative or challenging, "Confident" can't really attest to what Demi is truly capable of. Her humanity shone bright on "Demi", but here it's almost as if it's a nuisance rather than a source for inspiration. It all adds up to an interesting listen--an album that shows promise yet falters where it should've succeeded the most.

Recommended Tracks in Bold:
1. Confident             2. Cool for the Summer 3. Old Ways
4. For You                 5. Stone Cold                         6. Kingdom Come
7. Waitin’ for You      8. Wildfire                              9. Lionheart
10. Yes                        11. Father

Selena Gomez-"Revival" Review

After she released one of 2013's best dance-pop albums, "Stars Dance", the road got a little bumpy for Selena Gomez. Or, should we say very bumpy: a stint in rehab after a Lupus diagnosis, tabloid drama over her relationship with Justin Bieber, a few hit-or-miss singles ("I Want You to Know" didn't really live up to expectations, but the R&B-tinged "Good for You" surprisingly turned out to be a big hit for Gomez), all the while balancing her acting career, new management, and a new label. Certainly, Selena Gomez has earned a fresh start (perhaps a vacation as well?), and maybe she's even entitled to name her fifth album "Revival", a choice that carries with it the notion of a new direction, either sonically or lyrically. If you could recall ten years ago when Jennifer Lopez made the same statement by naming her fifth album "Rebirth", it brings a parallel motion into focus: if "Stars Dance" was Gomez's attempt to be "Rihanna", then "Revival" is no doubt her JLO record. The songs, while fashionable and distinctive in their own right, don't aim far beyond middle of the road. The production always hints at creativity and spark, but often submits to the gloss and genericism of modern dance-pop. But unlike JLO, who sounded like she sorta-kinda cared about steering herself towards more unfamiliar territory in "Rebirth", Selena Gomez doesn't muster up the energy to sound half as invested. Since "Revival" is so stubbornly subdued and mannered, any intricacies in the production go by largely unnoticed, while Gomez's vocal performance is mostly ignored in order to emphasize the low hum of the beats beneath patchwork quilts of synths and percussion.

Predictably, "Good for You" is the only track here that strikes the balance between sultry vocals with sexy and subtle production. "Survivors" comes in a close second, benefitting from house and club influences, only without the strong hooks it deserves. "Revival" thankfully only dips below average once as well, on the clumsy and neck-cringing "Hands to Myself", where Max Martin delivers his worst dud since the early days of the teen-pop revival in the 90s. So, Gomez can be proud that she has achieved her most consistent album, but even still, the number of times "Revival" tries to flirt with rebirth ("Rise"), sex ("Good for You"), or relationships ("Camouflage"), is the exact amount of times it fails to cover enough musical ground or lyrical depth in any of those areas ("Revival", "Hands to Myself", and "Sober", respectively). Especially when odd-ball tracks like "Same Old Love" and "Me & The Rhythm" pop in, feeling so slightly out of place, there's no sense of coherency here. Despite the promotion of this record as a personal product of self-love and introspection, "Revival" relies most heavily on its production and style; not necessarily a problem for just any ol' pop record, but on a supposed statement of purpose like this, it's a big issue. Gomez has more writing credits--she even oversaw the album's overall production and direction as well--but she doesn't prove that she consciously knows how to create her own persona outside of Taylor Swift's girl squad or the Radio-Disney tween scene. Even if it's more mature and not as garish as some of her previous work, "Revival" is ultimately weighed down by not letting Gomez be the fun, dynamic character that she so auspiciously wants to be.

Recommended Tracks in Bold:

1. Revival                    2. Kill ‘Em With Kindness     3. Hands to Myself

4. Same Old Love      5. Sober                                     6. Good for You

7. Camouflage         8. Me & The Rhythm        9. Survivors

10. Body Heat             11. Rise

Lana Del Rey-"Honeymoon" Review

What's the rush, Lana? "Ultraviolence", LDR's second album and first number one, was a giant leap forward in the star's ouevre of sultry and sedated torch-rock. Wonderfully tattered vocals from Del Rey, mixed with equally gritty production from Dan Auerbach, all blended seamlessly in a record that generated more acclaim than sales. Sure, "Ultraviolence" still went Gold, but its life-span on the charts didn't quite match up to the promise of its two-year gestation period. Maybe LDR wanted to release albums quicker than that, but didn't have the necessary inspiration. Cynics might suggest that releasing "Honeymoon", Del Rey's third album, so quickly after an underwhelming attempt at crossover success would imply that she's running back to comfortable territory after a stumble with the less familiar. Don't be fooled by either scenario: "Ultraviolence" wasn't an artistic failure by any stretch; even if it didn't match the sales of "Born to Die", it was still an accomplished triumph for an artist initially pegged as a fleeting phenomenon.

While "Ultraviolence" showed signs of longevity, though, "Honeymoon" by comparison can't help but feel like a step backward in some regard. Lana Del Rey continues to strip away the excess from her work, this time favoring smooth orchestral ballads rather than trip-hop or psychedlic pop. Her vocals are clean, the synths soft and muted, the production mastered to sound as if this album were recorded straight onto vinyl. All this "authenticity" results in a very warm album; the songs are all beautiful and lush, but...that's about it. "Honeymoon", despite its ludicrously long running time (65 minutes, really?), doesn't actually make many statements; artistically, politically, socially, musically...there's just not much substance here. Lead single "High by the Beach", with its modern mix of hip-hop and soft rock, would have made a deeper impression had LDR not already made an entire album and bonus EP with the exact same formula. Likewise, "Terrence Loves You" sounds like "Old Money" with more piano and a saxophone loop. It all sounds good to the ear, but at the same time reeks of self-indulgence. Had LDR not been so pointedly lethargic and stoic, perhaps she could have made "Honeymoon" the sprawling anthology it so clearly wants to be. It's too stuck in its ways for it to be a true, comprehensive work, and instead is a collection of songs that add up to less than the sum of its parts. It's a pleasant collection of songs, yes, and it doesn't tarnish Del Rey's ever-growing legacy in alt-rock, but it doesn't really enhance it, either. There was a bold provocateur that "Ultraviolence" brought to fruition, and once the "Honeymoon" ends, LDR might be better off embracing that willing-to-take-risks part of herself, rather than settling on the safe and well-beaten path that she's slowly sinking into.

Recommended Tracks in Bold:
1. Honeymoon                    2. Music to Watch Boys To               3. Terrence Loves You

4. God Knows I Tried           5. High By The Beach                   6. Freak

7. Art Deco                           8. Burnt Norton                                  9. Religion

10. Salvatore                     11. The Blackest Day                         12. 24

13. Swan Song                   14. Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood