day 4.50

album review: born to die, lana del rey

chances are you caught lana del rey's not-so-stellar tv debut on saturday night live last month. forget it. so, the girl's not a live performer. what she is a killer song writer. del rey (real name, lizzy grant)'s debut, born to die, is a mixed bag of melancholy ballads and catchy choruses sure to get stuck in your head. here are some of the stand out tracks.

"off to the races"

this song will take a couple listens, but trust- you'll love it. del rey moves from deep voiced sing-speak to flowing melody to punchy chorus. she name calls bacardi- how can you not love it?

"radio"

most of born to die is made for move soundtracks ... or a nivea commercial. this is one of those songs.

"diet mountain dew"

the other half is calling out for a rap remix (think kanye, or even childish gambino). "diet mountain dew" is an anthem about love in new york ... and maybe diet soda that melts animal carcasses. i'm not really sure.

"summertime sadness"

a lot of del rey's songs seem to follow the same story arc, with recurring themes of red dresses and death. fun stuff, right? "summertime sadness" is part of that series, which also includes "races" (above), "born to die" and "video games."

that's just a small preview- definitely check out all of del rey's debut on spotify.