She doesn’t need a tree. She’s swinging from the sky. It’s a metaphor. Shut up. Her next single is called “Tire Swing.” “Tire swing/in the sky/I can go/twice as high.” I should write this down.
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[5.88]
Anthony Easton: As someone who loved and defended Lana Del Rey for four or five singles, I now understand the problems that the detractors saw in her: when she gets lazy, when she doesn’t work past the production, or when she pushes out product without any real variation. A useful moral lesson in the age of hyped-out mixtapes and the deconstruction of what releases even mean.
[3]
Patrick St. Michel: “I’ve been trying too hard/with one pretty song.” Is that self-awareness I hear coming from the Lana Del Rey camp? Whether it’s an admittance, a coincidence or a bit of artistic trickery meant to fool the public into shelling out money for a “Paradise Edition” of her disjointed debut album, it’s an unexpected moment on “Ride,” which is an unexpected song from Del Rey. Whereas the bulk of Born To Die sounded rushed and gimmicky, “Ride’ moves at a more patient pace (Rick Rubin handling production probably doesn’t hurt), with Del Rey not rapping or making cutesy voices but just singing. The song even seemingly repackages the strings that opened up “National Anthem,” and they sound way better appearing late in “Ride” than at the start of that song. Now she has two pretty songs… hope she doesn’t bleed this one dry as quickly.
[7]
Katherine St Asaph: Like a “Bridge over Troubled Water” sung by someone who just got done gargling it, or maybe like an outlaw country fashion spread. By now Lana knows to supply lines for the hecklers, and while nothing here is so Onion-brazen as that Pepsi quip elsewhere on Paradise, “I’ve been trying too hard with one pretty song” and “singing blues has been getting old” are certainly quotable. But this time, she’s got a song that’s not completely worthless. Had the year gone differently, I might even believe she knew how to tell.
[6]
Alfred Soto: What on earth is she doing with her voice? Pop music hasn’t heard affect like this since Rickie Lee Jones. Affect doesn’t signify on its own — it substitutes for emotions that the singer can’t feel or heightens their intensity. Except for the billowy chorus, I can’t tell what Del Rey wants — as usual.
[3]
Jonathan Bogart: She’s beginning to assimilate the rhythms of country songwriting, which makes sense — the restlessly artificial Dolly Parton of the 70s and 80s is the closest thing to a predecessor the Lana Del Rey project has. Which is no knock against either Dolly or her.
[7]
Brad Shoup: Going all-in on the sadcore does not equal damage control! I feel like I had to sift to get to the song.
[5]
Edward Okulicz: That descending melodic line (that first accompanies the line “don’t break me down”) leading into the chorus is the epitome of a cheap trick well-employed. She’s trying to do some different things with her voice than just blank and numb, and the relative success of “Ride” suggests that even if the growls and wails are a little out of her comfort zone, that when she masters them, they’ll be dazzingly effective.
[8]
Will Adams: “I’m tired of feeling like I’m fucking crazy,” she sings in the middle eight as the strings pick up. Consider this in relation to “Off to the Races,” where she coquettishly declared the opposite, and notice the stark difference. Lana is no longer thinking of praising her Übermensch. She’s driving alone through the night, but she’s never sounded so assured – despite “Ride” mostly being plea to a lover to stay, the word “you” only appears in the first verse. The faster-than-usual tempo and wide melodic range make it sound alien from Born to Die; I can’t tell if this stylistic shift is a one-off event or a conscious decision, but it’s thrilling nonetheless.
[8]