It’s nearly time for our Honeymoon. Have you all got your bikinis and bazooka guns packed yet?
But first, there’s the small matter of the newly unveiled album cover, upon which our Queen of Coney Island can be seen casually sightseeing aboard a StarLine Tours bus. Lana’s really toying with her celebrity status more than ever on this album, and it’s all quite cheeky. (The limited edition cover, on the other hand, is stunning.)
Guess what? That phone number on the side of the bus is real. Seriously! Call in (1-800-268-7886) and listen for the Honeymoon Hotline, where Lana will greet you with a recorded message and the option to listen to title track “Honeymoon,” “Terrence Loves You,” or hear lectures by physicist Lawrence Krauss or a TED talk by entrepreneur Elon Musk. (The lines currently deactivated, but it was working for a short time yesterday. Watch it in action!)
Meanwhile, Lana’s listening on the other end like…
But wait, there’s more!
With the album just weeks away, Lana’s unveiled a new song from the set called “Terrence Loves You,” a slow-burning, nostalgic ode to a former music-making flame that, like “Honeymoon”, combines the string-filled flare of Born To Die with the dreamy depression of Ultraviolence — and sort of sounds like something off of Goldfrapp‘s hushed Tales Of Us, too.
“I lost myself when I lost you/And I still got jazz when I’ve got those blues/And I lost myself when I lost you/And I still get trashed darling when I hear your tunes,” our lonesome jazz singer achingly laments across the devastating chorus, her voice complimented by subtle flares of horns and gentle piano chords. First she’s high, now she’s drunk? The girl is 2 On.
Similar to “Honeymoon,” the track heads off into a new direction toward the tail-end — only this time around, she’s briefly blasting off to the heavens: “Ground control to Major Tom/Can you hear all me all night long?” she begs, harmonizing with herself in a wonderfully unexpected David Bowie reference. Vocally, this is also one of Lana’s most impressive offerings in a well. The final moments, especially, are angelic.
For something as sweet as a Honeymoon, she sure is having an awful time. A beautiful, awful time. Thanks a lot, Terrence! But then, what more would you expect?
Never change, Lana.
Honeymoon will be released on September 18. (iTunes)
