Lana Del Rey doesn’t share the idyllic, charming, uncomplicated view of America that Norman Rockwell’s paintings famously depicted. Her world, like many others’, is entangled with dizzying amounts of confusion, yearning, and fear. Her world is honest, revealing a stark contrast to the American media’s 20th-century version.

On her new album, songs about her highs and lows, triumphs and failures, tell the stories of her own personal relationships and more generally of a people’s relationship with their country. It’s an ambitious parallel to make, but it works because it is never forced. The album avoids sounding overly dense thanks to its lighthearted and genuinely human moments of resolve, like when she confidently sings the album’s thesis statement: ‘fuck it, I love you.’ Moments like these show how sometimes you have to rely on emotion instead of reason when things around you seem frustratingly irrational. This resilient attitude makes the music both intriguing and relatable, and ultimately makes Norman Fucking Rockwell! is one of the best albums of the year.

Check out some of her songs and videos on the freezepeach website and Spotify playlists 🍑