Every Lana Del Rey Album Ranked Worst To Best
4. Blue Banisters
Lana Del Rey's most recent record (and her second release of 2021) Blue Banisters surpasses the high bar set by Chemtrails Over The Country Club by simply being a much more daring and emotionally charged listening experience.
A captivating record that starts off incredibly well thanks to the sweeping track Text Book, Blue Banisters is in many ways Del Rey's most challenging album, full of complex and deeply personal lyrics rife with nostalgic longing, melancholy and self-aware humour.
Not only is the album reminiscent of many of her earlier projects, but the way in which it manages to dig into the mystery of Del Rey's persona - is she genuine, or is her image merely a well-crafted character? - is both remarkably interesting and emotionally resonant.
Moving between sweeping ballads - the best of which, Sweet Caroline, was co-written with her sister and father and serves as a sweet love letter to the former - and atmospheric singles, Blue Banisters is a confounding, poignant reminder that Lana Del Rey is far from throwing in the towel, and still has a lot left to show.