West Coast | Lana Del Rey

★★★★☆

One of the most talked about indie pop artists of the decade is prepared to re-claim her position of power with her upcoming sophomore album, Ultraviolence. However, this time around it seems that Lana Del Rey is making a move to combine dark pop and light rock in lead single "West Coast."

The lush, blooming instrumentals of Born To Die and Paradise have been stripped down to the core: guitars, drums, and a sparse scattering of summery synths to fill any voids. Meanwhile, Del Rey brings a cutesy, airy vocal tone last seen in songs like "Off to the Races" and "Carmen" on Born To Die. Her famous smoky lower vocals can be heard layered underneath the main vocals, though.

This song definitely is a departure from the sound of her debut and subsequently re-release, but the lyrics are still typical Lana Del Rey, which is good (I wasn't expecting her writing style to change, nor did I want it to). "I can see my baby swinging / His Parliament's on fire when his hands are up," sings Del Rey. "On the balcony and I'm singing / Ooh baby, ooh baby, I'm in love." Sounds poetic enough, doesn't it? (Well, at least everything up to the inevitable "Ooh baby.") 

"West Coast" can be streamed now on YouTube and was rush-released to iTunes today. Listen to the track below and get ready to listen to it endlessly during the dog days of the summer.