Haters don’t ruin Lana Del Ray’s debut album

The mostly unwarranted hatred toward Lana Del Rey stems from something the singer did incredibly well… Born to Die

Interscope

Grade: B-

Rocks Like: Adele’s less talented little sister

The mostly unwarranted hatred toward Lana Del Rey stems from something the singer did incredibly well. The music video for her single “Video Games” was good enough to capture plenty of people’s attention. The problem arose when indie music blogs discovered Del Rey’s backstory and deemed her “fake,” a hipster-pandering product of a wealthy father and a spoiled upbringing. The singer didn’t improve matters by describing herself as a “gangster Nancy Sinatra” in an MTV interview. But the brouhaha surrounding her financial situation has no bearing on her music. Lana Del Rey’s debut album, Born to Die, is a solid contribution to the indie-pop genre.

Despite being featured in a stunningly awful “Saturday Night Live” performance, which Del Rey bombed with flat singing, the album is vocally outstanding. Her husky voice croons steadily throughout each song, almost like a 1940s lounge singer in a smoky piano bar. The instrumental production is a quiet but effective complement, serving its purpose as a prop to her voice. The end result blends big-budget production with indie-pop sensibilities, making tracks such as “Born to Die” likely radio hits, much like Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep.”

The two songs she’d previously released, “Blue Jeans” and “Video Games,” are the album’s strongest. The slow-paced instrumental and vocalization of “Blue Jeans” belie turbulent lyrics about rejection and love: “Promise you’ll remember that you’re mine / Baby can you see through the tears?”

Lyrically, Del Rey’s perspective comes from a rather specific demographic. The singer had a privileged upbringing in Lake Placid, and her music doesn’t attempt to fake a more edgy life à la Rick Ross. The album chronicles the love stories of rich kids who still managed to get into trouble with songs such as “National Anthem,” which is about teenage lovers going to the Hamptons. Though there’s nothing inherently wrong with writing about what you know, now is not a good time to be flaunting wealth. National ire against the 1 percent is rising, providing some music critics grounds to find her music distasteful. But Del Rey’s wealth should not be held against her; she has a great voice and the resources to make people hear it.

Of course, wealth can’t buy a perfect album. Despite a few standouts, the songs generally have too much editing and too little substance. Cliche-filled “Radio” and “Carmen” do nothing but add fuel to her detractors’ fire by lamenting rich girl problems. The album’s attempt at a conventional pop hit, “Summertime Sadness,” falls flat with its uninspired hook and overbearing production.

Nonetheless, the intense criticism Del Rey has received will likely add to the singer’s buzz. For an album with this much talk surrounding it, “Born to Die” is a well-crafted debut for a singer with an undeniable future.