After two long years, Lana Del Rey has officially released her ninth studio album, titled “Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd.” 

The album consists of 16 songs in total, as well as contributions from multiple artists such as Father John Misty, Tommy Genesis, Jon Batiste, and the Bleachers. This combination of unique elements from all the artists is what makes Del Rey’s album all the more captivating and moving. 

“Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd” has a very melancholy feel to it, similar to that of her preceding album, “Blue Banisters.” Many listeners felt that they could relate so deeply to Del Rey’s emotional honesty in her music. Her music sounds as though it came from the heart: it is realistic, but also melodramatic in a storytelling sense.

Vanessa Shambra, a life-long fan of Del Rey’s, shared her insight on the album. She discussed how Del Rey’s music transcended the simplicity of just a sound, speaking to her innermost struggles, thoughts, and emotions.

“My favorite song on the new album is ‘Kintsugi,’ because it really captures my most common struggles within my emotional life,” Shambra said. “Her lyrics exemplify the struggle of certain emotions, and in a beautiful tone that calms my mind as I listen to it. It reminds me that I am not alone in my emotions, and the overall melody of the song is beautiful and different from current music artist styles.”

Del Rey uses her elegant sound to reflect on current situations in her own life. Aging and recent deaths in her family weigh heavy on her mind as the artist converts the deep and confusing emotion of grief into music. 

The thought of life fleeting away led Del Rey to reflect on her own morality in a way that embodies a new depth of fear, different from her portrayals of fear in past albums. This version of fear described by Del Rey feels new and hard-earned.

According to BuzzFeed News, “On ‘Ocean Blvd,’ she rarely says the words ‘death’ or ‘die.’ Instead, her fears of aging and dying alone or unremembered have seeped into her everyday consciousness.”

The opener to the album, “The Grants,” begins with a choir sound, heavenly and transcending to push the listener into the immersive world of Lana Del Rey. She sings the line “My pastor told me when you leave, all you take/Is your memory/And I’m gonna take mine of you with me,” addressing her family. Del Rey repeats the last line multiple times, until it begins to shift from a warm reassurance to a desperate grasp for something – anything at all – to hold onto in the next life. 

Many found this line profoundly moving, as it spoke to the age-old truth of time, experienced everyday by everyone everywhere.

Personally, I found myself playing the twelfth track of the album “Let the Light In” on repeat, night and day. 

This song had a beautiful combination of instruments, including guitar, drums, synthesizer, organ, piano, and string. Each instrument perfectly blended with the voices of Del Rey and Misty in a way that enchanted me and transported my mind to a warm summer evening watching the sun slowly descend from the heavens. 

The song felt like a “goodnight, see you tomorrow” – it began as an adventure with the line “I can’t ever stop wanna have fun/Don’t be actin’ like I’m the kinda girl who can sleep,” but later transitioned into “Put the TV on and the flowers in a vase, lie your head,” before finally ending the story as “Look at us, you and me back at it again.” 

As the sun descends, Del Rey slowly creates a sense of calm in a story that began as action-packed, until she alluded to this action beginning again, in the same way the sun rises without fail each morning after completing its descent the night before.

This summer, Del Rey will be performing at two music festivals: Chicago at Lollapalooza, and San Francisco at Outside Lands. Many await to be moved by the breathtaking experience of Del Rey’s enchanting music live.