Lana Del Rey, ‘A&W’ – Single Review ★★★★★

A&W by Lana Del Rey will likely be one of the most exciting, beautiful, and unusual songs you will hear throughout 2023. The track is a long one. Moreover, it clocks in at just over seven minutes and with Del Rey’s immense storytelling skill, telling a fictional tale of a girl definitely not living the American dream. (A&W stands for American Whore. Listen to the song you will pick up the theme).

The second single release off Lana Del Rey’s forthcoming ninth studio album ‘Did You Know There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd’ out on March 24^th, A&W starts off simple and sparse – just acoustic guitar, piano and lead vocal. The moody acoustic guitar reminds you of early Elliot Smith. Also, with a hint of Nirvana Unplugged, while Del Rey’s eerie, beautiful vocal leaves you absolutely gobsmacked with how good it is. When she hits that high pitch on her vocal line, you can only listen on with awe. Especially given how good Lana Del Rey is as a singer and a writer.

Jack Antonoff

Produced by studio wizard and man in demand Jack Antonoff who has worked with pretty much every artist relevant at the moment (The 1975, Taylor Swift, Lorde, Florence and the Machine), ‘A&W’ continues with layered double tracked vocals, guitar and also piano – nothing else is needed. So that’s beautiful part one of the song done and dusted.

As mentioned, there are two distinctive parts to ‘A&W’. Two thirds in the track drops down to a lo-fi heavy bass littered with electronic beats, and synths. Very Alt-J and Prince. Also, there are some synth strings thrown in for good measure that wouldn’t sound out of place on Sgt Pepper.

Overall, A&W is a superb track that will keep the listener on their toes. Lana Del Rey has already achieved five UK number one albums in her pretty short career. Her ninth long player in March will almost certainly become her sixth. Furthermore, Del Rey has to be up there as one of the most original artists of her generation.