Lana Del Rey - White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter

Lana Del Rey releases her new single – is this finally the start of a new cycle?

If there’s ever been an artist difficult to pin down when it comes to releasing music, it’s Lana Del Rey. The supremely influential singer-songwriter has returned once more, with “White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter” – what might – just might – be the lead single for her next LP. Released after a few hours’ delay on February 17th via Polydor/Interscope, the track goes for some unorthodox deliveries and musical decisions, making for an intriguing, if slightly puzzling step into a possible new era.

“White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter” begins with a brief, slightly menacing-sounding intro almost reminiscent of a Disney villain song or something out of musical theater, before the actual song kicks into gear. This fairytale-like feel returns for large parts of the track, with the whimsical melodies and the use of lyrics like “whoopsie-daisy, yoo-hoo!” and an onomatopoeia for a hot pot among other moments contributing to the dark, yet playful atmosphere. The shimmering, gothic-like production only contributes further to the eerie ambience of the track, as does the slightly distant quality of the mixing on Lana’s vocals.

The issues with the track mainly lie within Lana Del Rey’s performance – the deadpan rapping delivery doesn’t quite connect, and even some of the singing feels like it leans closer towards low-effort than Lana Del Rey’s signature understated vocal subtlety. In addition to this, the lyrics feel more confusing than they do artistically enigmatic, with the fairly simple topic of her marriage being discussed in a way that at times ends up coming off too wordy, and conveys pretty unclear imagery. However, despite all this, the track is still mostly about the feel, so these problems aren’t too detrimental to it overall.

Overall, if “White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter” is an indicator about what Lana Del Rey’s album, whose title is currently said to be Nothing Kills Your Name, will sound like, then it’s nothing unbelievable, but still decently promising in spite of its flaws. It’s a very atmospheric track with a unique approach to it and some interesting ideas musically. As long as the awkward rapping is kept to a minimum, the album should turn out well. That is, of course, if Lana actually releases it this time.

7.0/10