2) Ultraviolence Marks Del Rey As An Important Songwriter
The depravity of American culture has always been the key focus of Del Rey’s work, and while the songs on Ultraviolence continue to include her trademark obsession with money and bad boys, the artist’s songwriting skills have evolved in tandem with the music itself.
Every song on the album contains powerful imagery which heightens the melodramatic content of the stories Del Rey tells. By investing every lyric with cinematic levels of excess, the listener becomes drawn into the tale of Del Rey as a character, one who cannot help but be drawn to flawed, abusive men. There are points where Del Rey almost dares you to dislike her, but there’s something appealing in that honesty which demands we invest emotionally in the artifice of her character.
Del Rey cleverly keeps the spotlight on her central character at all times, relegating these hateful men to the shadows, so the impact of the devastation is honed to an uncomfortable degree for the listener. Ultraviolence is a more mature and nuanced exploration of heartbreak than any of Del Rey’s previous work and as a songwriter, she has never been better.
