LA to the Moon Tour
On February 2, Lana Del Rey is bringing her LA to the Moon Tour to Orlando’s Amway Center, on the heels of her most recent album Lust for Life—a coming-of-age, cosmic masterpiece whirling us through space and time with a melodic, centrifugal pull. Caught in a romance with the past but in love with the future, Del Rey’s album is a contribution that pushes her moody and brooding fans—and even her melancholy self—to find a new, grown-up perspective and embrace the joys of the moment.
Since her 2012 breakthrough with Born to Die, Del Rey has captured the hearts of star-crossed lovers with her vintage Hollywood glamour, Marilyn Monroe pout, and babydoll eyes looking longingly to the decades of old. Her sweetly-sad aesthetic became fully-formed with her later albums, 2014’s Ultraviolence and 2015’s Honeymoon, each track dripping with the nectar of nostalgia that enticed the ears of this millennium’s throwback youth.
Lust for Life has all the makings of a classic Del Rey record, from the usual cinematic wall of sound to her signature warble. But to the pure in heart, there’s something different in Lust for Life—something Del Rey didn’t have before.
Del Rey has become the queen of cool to hipster kids seeking an escape from a world that doesn’t know what it really is, temporarily saving them from an over-cultured wasteland with her wistful songs of yesteryears. Yet lullabying her fans to sleep from the current day could only get her so far. In Lust for Life, Del Rey chooses not to swim aimlessly in the woe-is-me sentimentalities of nostalgia; she uses that nostalgia as her compass to carve a path in the uncharted territory of the future.
The album’s first track, “Love,” shows a Del Rey full of ambition, leading her generation with a hopeful note of encouragement. Directing her anthem to the young fans of “vintage music,” she sings, “You’re part of the past, but now you’re the future.” Reminding her listeners that, even in the changing times, it’s enough “to be young and in love,” Del Rey gives a view of love that differs from what we have seen in her previous albums: love is the force that will equip her for the uncertainties of tomorrow.
Lust for Life’s title track is Del Rey’s bold step into that world of tomorrow. The singer duets with chart-topper The Weeknd, showing that she is more than eager to stand beside Hollywood’s musical elite, rather than reign alone in her unique yet indulgent corner.
Still, there is no lack of vintage appeal; “Beautiful People Beautiful Problems” features Stevie Nicks, perhaps a move motivated by Del Rey’s aim to fling her icons and influences onto the scene to bring purpose and perspective to the cultural experience of her fans. Del Rey also invited John Lennon’s son, Sean Ono Lennon, to sing with her on “Tomorrow Never Came,” a tender folk ballad that balances Del Rey’s vision of unity and progression.
And to tie it all together—as every worthy album should—Del Rey’s album cover shows the beauty shining a truly happy smile above the words “Lust for Life,” as if to say how sweet life can be when it is lived, not just remembered.
