Buckle in for a track-by-track appreciation of Lana Del Rey’s newest album, Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd. The album contains 16 tracks, including “interludes” by Judah Smith and Jon Batiste (the former is Del Rey’s pastor, so that should be interesting), and I’ll write a post about each of them.

The one exception is the title track, which I’ve already included on the blog, but I’ll cover that one in today’s post.

So let’s get started…

Track 1: ‘The Grants’

The album’s first song is titled after Del Rey’s family name, signaling that this record will be as personal as her last two.

The first sounds we hear are the gospel backing vocals of Melodye Perry, Pattie Howard, and Shikena Jones (a trio of backup singers chronicled in the 2013 documentary 20 Feet from Stardom). The outtake finds them flubbing a line and starting over, a moment Del Rey found charming in the studio, prompting her to kick off the album with it.

Then the actual song kicks in, and we’re in familiar gorgeous piano ballad territory. This is where some listeners might suggest we’re getting more of the same from Del Rey, to which I reply “yes we are, and we are so so lucky!” It’s like complaining about too many orgasms.

‘The Grants’ is an elegiac but hopeful song about the people we lose and the people we remember. Del Rey mentions her sister’s new baby and her late grandmother, and alludes to an uncle who died by suicide in the Rocky Mountains. She promises to bring their memories with her when she goes, following the advice of that same pastor who’ll show up later on the album (I didn’t realize Del Rey was this religious).

When those backing vocals kick on the second chorus, hot damn, that’s lovely.

This is an interesting choice as an album opener — in style and message, it feels more like a closer. It definitely has me curious about the path this sprawling album will take.

Track 2: ‘Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd‘

As I mentioned above, I’ve already posted this song, and you can hear it at the link above.

‘The Grants’ segueing into the title song is a fascinating and poignant choice. A song about legacy and memory fades into a song in which Del Rey cries out “don’t forget me” and compares herself to a long forgotten Los Angeles landmark.

She seems insecure about her own place in the world, and in the memories of those who know her, even as she waxes eloquent about how much her loved ones mean to her.

The song’s most telling line might be “love me until I love myself,” a hint that it’s not other people’s acceptance she seeks so much as her own.

These two tracks are a provocative and beautiful start to this highly anticipated album. I’m excited to hear what comes next.