Album Review: Lana Del Rey’s Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd
Cover photo from Genius
Lari Li
With her classic Angelina Jolie references, a trap remix of “Venice B***h” and more, Lana Del Rey’s most recent album took the Internet by storm following its release in 2023 over its winding name. People set out on conquests to different Ocean Boulevards around the nation. Turns out, the tunnel she references is the now-hidden Jergins Tunnel in Long Beach, California.
For conciseness and clarity, I’ll be shortening the album name to Ocean Blvd.
Featuring 16 tracks, Ocean Blvd is stunning and diverse as Lana experiments with all sorts of song styles and takes inspiration from all of her old styles. Think of it like some of her other projects synthesized into one.
Thoughts & Themes
Overall, I like the diversity of this album as Lana celebrates how far she’s come in music. There’s classic Lana: soft acoustics that are perfect to serenade people with, flowy piano, and her signature whispery sound. Still, Lana strays away from her usual style in Ocean Blvd, incorporating trap beats, snares, and autotune.
Tracklist & Individual Review
“The Grants”
“My pastor told me when you leave, all you take
Is your memory
And I’m gonna take mine of you with me”
Born Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, “The Grants” is an ode Lana sings to her loved ones and reflects thoughts of the afterlife. I love the intro of this song, where Melodye Perry and Pattie Howard (former backup singers for Whitney Houston) appear to be going through trial and error when learning the chorus.
“Once they were learning chorus and they made that mistake in the beginning I snapped my finger and I was like, Zach, snap that part where Melody tells everyone that they messed up and put it on the top of the song, because that’s how the top of the album should start. For me there’s so much symbolism there, because I liked the naturalness of it.”
- Lana Del Rey in an interview with BBC Radio 1’s Hottest Record
The soft piano chords and strings in the background are paired with a stronger, sturdier voice of Lana’s, giving this song a very full sound.
“My sister's first-born child
I'm gonna take that too with me
My grandmother's last smile
I'm gonna take that too with me
It's a beautiful life
Remember that too for me”
“Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd”
“When’s it gonna be my turn?
Don’t forget me”
Like the Jergins Tunnel that has been abandoned for half a century, in the chorus, Lana questions when it’s “her turn” to be discarded by the world as well.
Harry Nilsson’s “Don’t Forget Me” influenced this track. This is confirmed in Verse 3, where Lana sings:
“Harry Nilsson has a song, his voice breaks at 2:05
Something about the way he says ‘Don't forget me’ makes me feel like
I just wish I had a friend like him, someone to give me five”
The title track of Ocean Blvd is similar in sound to “The Grants,” with both being powerful with strong piano and production. Both have very distinct and unforgettable choruses that give the songs their trademark and separate them from the rest on the album. Both follow themes of lingering feelings and thoughts.
Likewise, the chorus of the title track is my favorite part.
“Sweet”
“If you want someone, then just call me up
And remember where I'll be
Sweet in barefeet
You can find me where no one will be”
“Sweet” is definitely one of my top songs from Ocean Blvd. My favorite part—the bridge—goes on a tangent, but that makes it beautiful and poetic and unforgettable. Lana definitely has a softer, quieter voice than the rest of her album, though that’s reflected in a couple of other songs on Ocean Blvd.
In “Sweet,” Lana is waiting, and at peace with it. In this ballad, she calls out to her lover, giving a reminder that “you can find me where no one will be.”
“In the woods somewhere, in the night
In the heart of a valley
In the sweet north country
If I'm not there, come to my house on Genesee”
“A&W”
Producer Jack Antonoff’s favorite track on Ocean Blvd. A&W is a 7 minute track split into two parts. The first describes Lana’s childhood while the second climbs into her adulthood. In Part 1, the lyrics are anecdotal like the pages of a diary as Lana opens up about her childhood trauma and experiences. Her desperation is followed with the lyrics “this is the experience of being an American whore,” which is what the title “A&W” stands for.
Once the song hits Part 2, a trap beat ensues and the infamous chorus repeating “Jimmy, Jimmy, cocoa puff, Jimmy, Jimmy, ride” is introduced. The themes of Part 2 polarize Part 1, with mentions of more explicit ideas and thoughts.
Overall a great contrast and seamless transition from sad diary entries to a catchy pattern on a trap beat.
“Your mom called, I told her, you’re f***ing up big time.”
“Judah Smith Interlude”
A spoken interlude of a sermon from Judah Smith, a celebrity pastor. Smith emphasizes the difference between love and lust in his sermon, which is a sharp contrast from preceding track.
“I used to think my preaching was mostly about You
And you're not gonna like this, but I'm gonna tell you the truth
I've discovered my preaching is mostly about me”
“Candy Necklace” (Ft. Jon Batiste)
“Candy Necklace” is similar to “Paris, Texas” in terms of instrumentation. Jon Batiste is a highly acclaimed pianist, composer, and singer. He backs the track with a beautiful piano melody—much like SYML in “Paris, Texas—” rather than play Lana’s typical chords.
The lyric “candy necklace” is a triple entendre for the carefree and innocent, the mature, and the suicidal thoughts that Lana has.
Lana and Jon’s contrasting voices in the outro wrap up the song perfectly.
“Jon Batiste Interlude”
Jon Batiste is joyful in this spoken interlude, likely a snippet from their studio session rather than something pre-planned. Piano is the main layer of the interlude, with some parts being of Lana singing in the background. The ending includes the two going through a conversational and playful exchange.
“Kintsugi”
Kintsugi is a Japanese art form in which broken pottery is mended with lacquer and gold or silver powder. The finishing piece is the original craft but with streaks of gold and silver. The themes of “Kintsugi” in summary state that you need to be broken to be fixed. Lana sings “that’s how the light gets in,” which is synonymous with Track 12 “Let The Light In.”
This song is on the quieter side and not my go-to on Ocean Blvd, but there’s a lot of artistic nuance and instrumentation with the combination of acoustic and electric guitar. The piano, synthesizer, and shaker come together really nicely as well.
“Fingertips”
“Caroline, will you be with me?
Will the baby be alright?
Will I have one of mine?
Can I handle it even if I do?”
I love the rhetorical questions Lana uses in this song to show her overthinking. The rest of the lyrics are long and winding like a diary. There’s beautiful strings in the background and Lana’s singing style in “Fingertips” is very similar to her style in “Kintsugi.”
“Paris, Texas” (Ft. SYML)
“Paris, Texas” samples “I Wanted To Leave,” a flowy piano song by pianist SYML. Instead of chords that are present everywhere in the album, “Paris, Texas” has a less layered piano accompaniment with just singular notes hitting the audio track in a catchy pattern and tune. It’s similar to Track 13 “Margaret” in terms of the lyrics “when you know, you know.”
“Paris, Texas” is about Lana’s life spent moving from place to place. She mentions the city Paris in Texas, a small city in America rather than the grand one in France that most people think of when they hear “Paris.” She also mentions the city of Florence in Alabama rather than Florence in Italy. Lastly, Venice in California rather than Venice in Italy is mentioned. She also shouts out Spain; the country that went to boarding school in.
“When you know, you know
When you know, you know
It's time, it's time to go”
“Grandfather please stand on the shoulders of my father while he’s deep-sea fishing” (Ft. RIOPY)
Lana wishes to be heard and supported by the divine. She urges God to send her “three white butterflies to know you’re near.” With her father and grandfather being mentioned, she’s calling out to ancestral and generational wisdom.
Vocals are layered and will make you feel like you’re ascending. RIOPY does an amazing job on the piano and I like the addition of electric guitar and drums in this song.
“Grandfather, please stand on the shoulders of my father
While he's deep-sea fishing for sharks in the Pacific”
“Let The Light In” (Ft. Father John Misty)
“At your back door yelling 'cause I wanna come in”
A classic. This song took the Internet by storm and I never ever skipped a “Let the Light In” cover. It’s fun and free and full of so much love. As seen in songs like “Ultraviolence” and “Tomorrow Never Came,” Lana’s known for having male backing vocals rather than female. Father John Misty’s backing vocals in the chorus give it depth and make it so much more.
“Margaret” (Ft. Bleachers)
“This is a simple song, gonna write it for a friend
My shirt is inside out, I'm messy with the pen
He met Margaret on our rooftop, she was wearing white”
This song features Jack Antonoff under his Bleachers moniker. “Margaret” was written by Lana for Jack. The muse for this song was actress Margaret Qualley, Jack’s wife. The “when you know, you know” lyrics from “Paris, Texas” are repeated in “Margaret.”
“Margaret” is enchanting and a beautiful ode to the love that Jack and Margaret share.
“'Cause, baby, if your love is in trouble
When you know, you know”
“Fishtail”
“Skipping rope in the bayou, bayou
Slip softly into rain”
“Fishtail” is extremely underrated. When the beat drops, a trap beat is introduced with Lana’s voice being heavy with auto tune. You’d think Lana wouldn’t need autotune at all with her clear vocals, but the auto tune does wonders and sounds amazing with the song.
Hollywood has painted Lana as “a sulky little girl” ever since she became a name in the industry. In “Fishtail,” she bashes these stereotypes and images that she was unwillfully given.
“Peppers” (Ft. Tommy Genesis)
“Peppers” is a sister track to “Fishtail.” It’s playful and free. Fishtail is a type of braid. In “Peppers,” Lana encourages her lover to “braid her hair.” Actress Angelina Jolie and the video game character she plays—Lara Croft and her classic braid—is shouted out in this song as Tommy Genesis raps her name in the chorus.
The themes and style of “Peppers” is very similar to “A&W,” being more mature with snares and more hip-hop influence on the instrumentation.
This song is like a response to the sad girl stereotype that Hollywood places on her in “Fishtail” where they wanted her “sadder.” Here, she shows that her image and her art are so much more than what society expects her to be.
“Taco Truck x VB”
Guess what the “VB” stands for? Venice B***h… A beautiful, golden song from NFR! was remixed on top of a trap beat as the second part of a new song, “Taco Truck.” The two were put together and made the album.
It’s arguably similar to “A&W,” where the first half of the song starts slower and sadder. There’s a time of low beats underneath a voice memo from Margaret Qualley, Jack’s wife about a dream she had before a trap beat hits.
As we get to the last three songs on Ocean Blvd, there’s more experimentation with production as autotune and snares are used, having Lana stray away from her usual style.
Enough said, this song deserves more recognition on Ocean Blvd.
Final Thoughts
Ocean Blvd is experimental and celebratory of everything Lana has made and went through. I love the wide spectrum on this album—from romantic ballads to hip-hop and rap. There’s songs for every mood on here, and they’ve definitely grown on me since I first listened back in 2023.
Give Ocean Blvd a listen!
