A year after Ultraviolence, US singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey is back with an impressive fourth studio album. Riding high on the previous record's creativity, Honeymoon delivers a new level of darkness and artistry.
Blending elements of trap, blues and jazz with layered echoes and harmonies, Del Rey's dreamy, retro-styled pop has serene overtones, with agonising, yet deeply beautiful lyrics.
The title track opener's cinematic strings introduce an album that unfolds like a psychological thriller.
Music to Watch Boys To and Terrence Loves You explore the emptiness of feeling lost, before Del Rey becomes desperate on God Knows I Tried: "I've got nothing much to live for/Ever since I found my fame."
High by the Beach is a defiant ode to revenge, while album highlight Freak overlays vocals to create a fluid soundscape.
Raw, depressing, but oddly liberating, Honeymoon is the perfect rainy day long-play.