Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd - Review

Last night, I went to a listening party for Lana del Rey’s “Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd”. The highly anticipated ninth album from the singer-songwriter is set to release March 24 by Interscope and Polydor Records.

I do have to preface by saying that I am a huge Lana del Rey fan. As much as I want to give her a 10/10 for just breathing, I am going to do my best to put my love for her aside in order to give the album an honest and fair review.

It was refreshing to listen to an album in order with a group of people. I love that Amoeba hosts these listening parties because music can be such a joyous, shared experience.

Here are my thoughts on each track:

The Grants - This song was the third single to be released and opens the album. I love the acappella intro. ‘The Grants’ functions as a tribute to Lana’s family (if you didn’t know, Grant is her real last name). I specifically love the mentions of her sister and her niece.

Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd - This song was the first single released back in December and is the album’s title track. Lyrically, it is pure poetry and melodically the tune is reminiscent of an older, almost 70s sound. Is it worthy of being a title track? In my opinion, no. Similarly to ‘Chemtrails Over the Country Club’, ‘Ocean Blvd’ is an okay song with an interesting title. That’s why it’s the album name. ‘Chemtrails’ is cooler on paper than it is to listen to.

Sweet - A Joni Mitchell-like opening with a beautiful piano intro. Other than that, it was forgettable.

A&W - Called that because it stands for American whore, a line Lana repeats throughout. This track was the second single and probably the most popular. The song doesn’t really pick up until the second half when the beat drops; however, 'A&W' is multi-layered with the rhythm changes. I would argue that it’s almost two songs wrapped into one.

All spoken word pieces made me kind of uncomfortable and felt out of place with the overall theme of the album but the instrumentals underneath were absolutely beautiful. I love Jon Batiste and I thought he could’ve been featured more prominently.

Candy Necklace (featuring Jon Batiste) - A song to twerk and cry to. Equal parts sad and sultry. Upon my first listen, it was my favorite. The first song that made my ears perk up.

Kintsugi - Good, but pretty repetitive

Fingertips - Also repetitive. By this track, I started to fall asleep. Too many songs sound the same. But a good ending. I heard someone at the party go “that one was kinda sad…well they all kinda are”. I couldn’t agree more.

Paris, Texas (featuring SYML) - Had my favorite intro. The piece is cinematic and almost Disney princess-like. The instrumental gives me Air (the band) vibes. 'Paris' is the most different on the album for her. This song and the next one (‘Grandfather’) reminded me of some movie score and I almost couldn’t put my finger on it…until. BAM. CORALINE! It’s eerie and beautiful. A great step for Lana.

Grandfather Please Stand on the Shoulders of My Father While He's Deep-Sea Fishing (featuring Riopy) - By this time in my listening experience, I was saying “no this one’s my favorite” about each song. The long title is very Lana and I love the jazz elements. Like I said, it’s a similar vibe to 'Paris, Texas' with the creepy, Coraline instrumental.

Let the Light In (featuring Father John Misty) - Sounds spooky! I ADORE FJM so l had high hopes for this track and rightly so because it’s a great song! The harmonies are tight and I, for one, am a fan. Another tune that made me say “no this one is my favorite” and the first that made me want to cry. It’s fresh but still sounds like classic Lana and that’s exactly what we want and need from her. I also got total Wings vibes so let me roll it to you, Lana. And that guitar at the end? C’mon! At the listening party, it got the biggest applause of the night.

Margaret (featuring Bleachers) - I love the fade in. Great harmonies but Jack Antonoff needs to be stopped. I said what I said.

Fishtail - I love the acappella intro, like ‘The Grants’, and the harmonies. The beat drop is epic and the autotune makes it the ‘Tulsa Jesus Freak’ of the album.

Peppers (ft. Tommy Genesis) - Here’s the slut song and it’s exactly what we want! It has a similar beat drop to ‘A&W’. I love the shaky, almost off key singing. It’s giving ‘Fuck it I love you’ vibes. We need more upbeat songs like this from Lana! I didn’t like that this was a one off. And yet, I’m calling it, ‘Peppers’ is the best song on the album.

Taco Truck x VB - At first I thought the album was closing on a bummer…a slow bummer conclusion that should’ve ended with 'Peppers'. It reminded me of 'Chemtrails' a little because of the drums, which I love…But she really named a song ‘Taco Truck’. Oh Lana, how I love you. I was ready to fall asleep again until I noticed…she samples herself! ‘Venice Bitch’ is what the VB stands for! Okay, strike that it’s a genius ending because let’s face it, 'NFR' will forever be her best album.

Favorite song on the album: Peppers

Score: 7/10