The enigmatic chanteuse once described herself as the “gangsta Nancy Sinatra.” On her latest release, Lana Del Rey embraces the tragic siren of 1950s and ’60s pop, mixing cinematic influences to create an ethereal soundtrack that is deliciously retro. It can get a little spooky. On the narcotically slow title track, Del Rey sings, “we both know the history of violence that surrounds you.” It’s clear that she’s resigned herself to the magnetic attraction of “Mr. Born to Lose.” On the sultry “Freak,” she urges her lover to “come to California and be a freak like me.” And she sounds every bit the tortured lover on the windswept “High By the Beach” when she sings, “I can’t survive, if this is all that’s real.” But it’s not all nightmarish. “Music to Watch Boys To” is delightfully dreamy and wistful. When she covers Nina Simone’s “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” Del Rey insists that she really is sometimes carefree, with a joy that’s hard to hide.
