There’s a few weeks to go before Lana Del Rey drops her new album Blue Banisters on July 4th. To help tide fans over until then, the pop star has just released three new “buzz” tracks: “Blue Banisters”, “Text Book”, and “Wildflower Wildfire”. Stream them below.
All three of these songs, which a press release is labeling as “buzz tracks in anticipation of her upcoming 8th studio album,” find Del Rey whisper-singing atop relatively scaled-back music. The title track is a gentle ballad with cushioned piano notes and quiet vocal runs, while “Text Book” begins in a similar manner before picking up with drums, backing harmonies, and a few guitar strums. Meanwhile, tongue-twister “Wildflower Wildfire” leans into piano chords to give Del Rey’s poetic story the feeling of a sleeper cabaret hit.
Gabriel Edward Simon co-wrote “Blue Banisters” and “Text Book” with Del Rey. He produced the former and co-produced the latter alongside Zachary Dawes. As for “Wildflower Wildfire”, that was co-written by Del Rey and Kanye West collaborator Mike Dean, who also served as a producer on the song.
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After putting out Chemtrails Over the Country Club this March, Del Rey teased a new album called Rock Candy Sweet before ultimately changing its name to Blue Banisters. She vowed to get “revenge” with the new LP after stirring up controversy with Chemtrails that she brought on herself, mainly surrounding cultural appropriation and the glamorization of domestic abuse.
Earlier this year, Lana Del Rey ruffled feathers once more by defending the cover art of Chemtrails by employing the “I have Black friends” defense and claiming that Donald Trump’s presidency “really needed to happen” despite causing so much harm. Remarkably, these two incidents pale in comparison to everything she said and did in 2020. It’s worth noting that since then, she’s scaled back her public use of Twitter and Instagram — perhaps for the best.
