Single Review: Lana Del Rey, “High by the Beach”

As promised, the song skews more toward the slick trip-hop of Born to Die than the rootsy rock of last year’s Ultraviolence.

Single Review: Lana Del Rey, High by the Beach

After last month’s string-laden ballad “Honeymoon,” from her upcoming album of the same name, hinted at a return to form, Lana Del Rey has unveiled the LP’s official lead single, “High by the Beach.” As promised, the song skews more toward the slick trip-hop of Born to Die than the rootsy rock of last year’s Ultraviolence, featuring crisp, clear vocals atop an even crisper, clearer trap beat and a hypnotic, percolating synth line. Though it’s an understated single by today’s pop standards, boasting lyrics like “You could be a bad motherfucker, but that don’t make you a man,” it’s handily Del Rey’s catchiest single since “Summertime Sadness” or at least “National Anthem.” When she breathlessly delivers the syncopated hook, just a hair behind the beat (“The truth is I never bought into your bullshit/When you would pay tribute to me”), lazy, revenge- and smoke-filled summer days never sounded so sweet. Listen below:

YouTube video

Honeymoon is due this fall on Interscope Records.

Sal Cinquemani

Sal Cinquemani is the co-founder and co-editor of Slant Magazine. His writing has appeared in Rolling Stone, Billboard, The Village Voice, and others. He is also an award-winning screenwriter/director and festival programmer.

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