The sultry sounds of Lana Del Rey are back, with lead single ‘Ride’ from the newly repackaged album, Born To Die: The Paradise Edition. Slightly more ‘downbeat pop song’ than her previous ‘slow, oh so slow’ singles, Del Rey has returned with another great track, which may even convince those who previously didn’t like the first edition of her album Born To Die to give her another go.
The song shows off the singer-songwriter’s voice far greater than her other singles such as ‘Video Games’ and ‘Blue Jeans’. Her soul-saturated vocals are hypnotic and the accompaniment is quite flawless. The lyrics are meaningful and poetic, but this is something we have come to expect from this superb artist.
Although the video has raised some eyebrows (issues of antifeminism and the glorification of prostitution) and the prologue and epilogue of the song seem an afterthought, the song is an all-American, blues triumph. Let the smoky tones continue…
8/10
