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10.0
66784
10.0 |
Consequence Of Sound
Del Rey braves huge and often absurd gestures, but my God, does she sound like she means them
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9.1
66737
9.1 |
Pretty Much Amazing
Try as you might, it’s hard not to be swept away by Ultraviolence’s gorgeous 70 mm sonic vistas. Unlike Born to Die, the album doesn’t contain a single pedestrian song
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8.6
66874
8.6 |
Sputnik Music (staff)
It's the very definition of a grower, and this record has something Born to Die never had: more reflection
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8.5
67349
8.5 |
Crack
This record is stark, isolated and at times unnervingly frozen
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8.0
67431
8.0 |
The List
A coherent piece of work that proves what many hope to disprove: Lana Del Rey is the real deal
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8.0
66837
8.0 |
Fact
With Ultraviolence, Lana Del Rey remains a singular figure in music, sounding (and addressing the idea of authenticity) like no one else
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8.0
66779
8.0 |
State
Ultraviolence is the horror show of the American Dream gone sour, Lana Del Rey’s beautiful self-constructed nightmare that only she can awaken from
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8.0
66987
8.0 |
Q
As strange and intoxicating as ever. Print edition only
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8.0
66898
8.0 |
Spin
Weird things make this less tuneful collection greater than the sum of its parts, like the quiet urgency as one tune moves to the next
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8.0
66739
8.0 |
The Arts Desk
Her lyrics will ensure that she’s unlikely to be covered by Taylor Swift any time soon
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8.0
66742
8.0 |
All Music
Ultraviolence asserts that as a songwriter, she has complete control of her craft, deciding on songs far less flashy or immediate but still uniquely captivating
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8.0
66725
8.0 |
PopMatters
Ultraviolence is a beautiful argument for her relevance and her potential longevity
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8.0
66735
8.0 |
Digital Spy
She's never sounded so comfortable in her own skin
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8.0
66711
8.0 |
DIY
It’s a strange, uncomfortable form of expression, and it’s a big part of a record that’s a hundred times more cohesive than ‘Born to Die’
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8.0
66712
8.0 |
The Guardian
Every chorus clicks, the melodies are uniformly beautiful, and they soar and swoop, the better to demonstrate Del Rey's increased confidence in her voice
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8.0
66713
8.0 |
The Irish Times
What seems certain is that whatever she really is, or whatever she does in her chosen milieu, Del Ray is the best at it
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8.0
67207
8.0 |
God Is In The TV
By no means a cheerful listen then, but a stunningly performed and arranged one, and an album likely to feature on 2014 best-of lists in the mainstream and alternative media alike
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7.1
66724
7.1 |
Pitchfork
She’s a pop music original full-stop, and there are not nearly enough of those around
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7.0
66734
7.0 |
The Digital Fix
Ultraviolence doesn't mess with the formula too much to alienate anyone who fell for her first time around. The lack of a couple of standout radio hits may be the only real criticism
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7.0
66708
7.0 |
Clash
It encapsulates much that the press, that her public, feel Lana is about – from the Hollywood nostalgia to the gentle snipes at those who’d prefer to write about her looks than her art
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7.0
66709
7.0 |
FasterLouder
If you can listen to a whole album of Billie Holiday being depressed you can do the same for Lana Del Rey, and you’ll get the same melancholy enjoyment out of it
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7.0
66710
7.0 |
Slant Magazine
Del Rey's lyrics present a woman who's unafraid of her feelings, no matter how politically incorrect they may be
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7.0
66720
7.0 |
Drowned In Sound
As an album to invest in, feel sentimental about, or be genuinely thrilled by, Ultraviolence falls short. Take it simply as a sumptuously-presented pop record, though, and you have to wonder if you’ll hear a better one this year
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7.0
66910
7.0 |
Earbuddy
Ultraviolence makes for a good listen. But if you’re concerned with authenticity, artistry, or verisimilitude, there’s just a speck more of that here than on Born To Die
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7.0
66958
7.0 |
Rolling Stone
Auerbach introduces dashes of bad ass blues and psychedelic guitar, but Del Rey – who co-wrote every song but the closing cover of Jessie Mae Robinson's 1950s hit "The Other Woman" – holds tight to her pouty, cinematic aesthetic
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7.0
66789
7.0 |
Exclaim
Ultraviolence prioritizes mood over innovation, classicism over experimentalism, and is better for it
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7.0
66819
7.0 |
musicOMH
As femme fatales go, you can’t help but wonder if this one isn’t fatally flawed. For the moment though, the latest chapter in the peculiar tale of Lana Del Rey still just about holds your attention
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7.0
67095
7.0 |
Entertainment.ie
There's very little on here that you might hear on any Top 40 radio chart, with Del Ray focusing and reigning in the sound she was still developing on Born To Die, and letting it loose here
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7.0
68069
7.0 |
No Ripcord
It’s a record that does an awful lot of things ‘wrong’ and is all the more beguiling for it
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6.0
67923
6.0 |
Mojo
Pop's Ms Darkside shows that she packs a punch. Print edition only
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6.0
66823
6.0 |
NME
Most of these 11 songs are stately ballads that swap her old hip-hop affectations and hiccupping-baby vocals for languid desert rock
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6.0
66973
6.0 |
The Music
A beautifully dark and cinematic affair, sure to keep the legions of followers well intact
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6.0
66707
6.0 |
The FT
A slow pace and lack of beats cause Ultraviolence to run adrift in its second half
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6.0
66715
6.0 |
Independent on Sunday
On Born to Die Del Rey’s dead-eyed moll-playing made for some interesting character drama. But here it has nowhere left to run
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6.0
66716
6.0 |
The Observer
Ultraviolence prefers to glide and swoop and reverberate around an idea rather than ramming it home
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5.0
67069
5.0 |
Under The Radar
While Del Rey doesn't take too many risks musically, it's lyrically where she's at her most interesting, even provocative
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4.2
66770
4.2 |
A.V. Club
The ultimate downfall of Ultraviolence is that it fails to craft its own identity or forge its own creative vision
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3.0
66744
3.0 |
The 405
Where in fact does Elizabeth Grant end and Lana Del Rey begin? The most damning aspect of Ultraviolence is that, by the end, you really couldn't care less
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