Blue Banisters (album)

Released July 4, 2021 Recorded 2020–2021 Producers Lana Del Rey Jack Antonoff Mike Dean Gabe Simon Zach Dawes Dean Reid Label Discography (2021) (2021)

LDR8 (formerly known as Blue Banisters & Rock Candy Sweet) is the upcoming eighth studio album and seventh major-label studio album by Lana Del Rey. It is expected to be officially released worldwide on July 4, 2021.

Background

The first indication of Del Rey's seventh major-label studio album came via a tweet posted on November 17, 2020, wherein she remarked that she was working on two albums.

On March 15, 2021, four days prior to the release of her sixth major-label studio album Chemtrails Over the Country Club, Del Rey announced she was working on two future music projects in an interview with MusicWeek. When asked about any potential titles she had in mind for the upcoming albums, she replied:

“Spending so much time in a close circle of country music friends, I could see one option for a title coming from that. I also have a secondary title I like that summed up 18 months of my life.”

The day following the release of Chemtrails, Del Rey announced the project under the title Rock Candy Sweet, alongside a release date of June 1, 2021.

Del Rey first teased the new title for the project via an Instagram post depicting on April 10, 2021. On April 27, 2021, Del Rey announced that her eighth studio album would be titled Blue Banisters, with a new release date of July 4, 2021. Later that same day, Del Rey posted a clip of the title track and its accompanying music video to Instagram with the message: "Sometimes life makes you change just in time for the next chapter", and to Twitter with: "I'm writing my own story. And no one can tell it but me"

In an interview hosted on May 12, 2021 by Anthony Fantano, Mike Dean confirmed his involvement in the production of the album. He also mentioned that he is very familiar with Del Rey's sound and knows other producers she has worked with in the past. Dean also said that he is planning to work with Del Rey in the future as well.

A reliable insider has said that Del Rey made last-minute changes to the album tracklist & title, completely altering the sound of the album and switching out most of the tracks for others.

Inspiration

Appearing on the April 2021 cover of MOJO, Del Rey expressed her interest in the country genre, telling the magazine that she had worked with Nikki Lane, who appeared on the Chemtrails track "Breaking Up Slowly", a cover album of country songs and another album of folk songs. In the article, she went on to describe her taste as "stark and blue, somewhat outlaw", and listed Hank Williams, Bobbie Gentry, Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette, Marty Robbins and Johnny Paycheck as sources of inspiration.

On March 20, 2021, the day of the album's announcement, Del Rey shared two Instagram stories wherein she responded to a Harper’s Bazaar article titled “Lana Del Rey Can’t Qualify Her Way Out Of Being Held Accountable”, writing:

“Just want to say thank you again for the kind articles like this one and for reminding me that my career was built on cultural appropriation and glamorizing domestic abuse. I will continue to challenge those thoughts on my next record June 1 titled Rock Candy Sweet.”

The article was critical of comments made by Del Rey prior to the release of Chemtrails regarding race and inclusivity, specifically calling Del Rey's comment - "I have always been extremely inclusive without even trying to" - "defensive" and "unnecessary". In her post, Del Rey countered that the comment "would have been unnecessary if no one had significantly criticized everything about [Chemtrails Over the Country Club] to begin with. But you did. And I want revenge."

Tracklist

Confirmed songs

• "Blue Banisters"
• "Text Book"
• "Wildflower Wildfire"
• "Thunder"

Possible songs

• "Cherry Blossom"
• "Dealer"