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Chemtrails Over the Country Club is the seventh studio album and sixth major-label studio album by Lana Del Rey. It was officially released worldwide on March 19, 2021, by Polydor and Interscope Records.

Background[]

Del Rey first revealed that she had been working on a new record on August 30, 2019, the release date of Norman Fucking Rockwell!, in an interview with Al Horner for The Times. In the interview, she announced that the title of the project would be White Hot Forever and explained that parts of the album had already been written. Del Rey estimated that the record would most likely be released within 12 to 13 months of the interview, in 2020, as a surprise release.[1] Del Rey also revealed that the record would sound similar to her previous album, Norman Fucking Rockwell!.

On November 6, 2019, a fan posted to Reddit that Del Rey had told her White Hot Forever may not be the album title. These claims were later proven to be true in a video posted by Del Rey to her Instagram on May 25, 2020, where she announced the new title Chemtrails over the Country Club.[2][dead link]

On August 6, 2020, Del Rey posted a snippet of the track "Tulsa Jesus Freak" to her Instagram. She later archived the post but the video remained available on her Facebook page.[3]

Del Rey announced in an Instagram post that the song "Let Me Love You like a Woman" would be released as a single on September 1, 2020. In her announcement, she also mentioned that she and her team were filming a music video for the title track "Chemtrails Over the Country Club". It was shot and directed by BRTHR. Del Rey also tagged Neil Krug, the photographer who worked on the Ultraviolence and other previous albums' covers, in the caption, leading fans to suspect he may be involved in the visuals for the new album.[4][dead link]

In Interview magazine, it was revealed that Del Rey produced the entirety of the album along with Jack Antonoff.[5] When the album tracklist was shown to include "Yosemite", the involvement of Rick Nowels was also confirmed.

On October 22, 2020, Del Rey posted behind-the-scenes footage for a music video to both her Instagram and Twitter accounts.[6][dead link][7] On Instagram, she tagged BRTHR in the caption.[6][dead link] The producer later confirmed on his Instagram story that a music video would be coming soon.

A teaser of the music video for the title track was posted by Del Rey on December 22, 2020, announcing the song would be released on January 11, 2021, alongside a pre-order for the album.

Chemtrails Over the Country Club is Del Rey's second album after Lust for Life to include featured artists. These artists include Zella Day, Weyes Blood and Nikki Lane.

Inspiration[]

In an interview with Q magazine in October 2019, Del Rey hinted at the album's theme, saying, “I only think of star signs for the next thing I’m doing.”

On May 21, 2020, in an Instagram post, Del Rey discussed double standards felt by women in the music industry. She added that the topic had influenced her writing, saying, “I’m sure there will be tinges of what I’ve been pondering in my new album”.[8][dead link]

Artwork[]

It was rumored that the cover would be shot by Neil Krug, who had previously worked on the Ultraviolence cover and the shoots for both Lust for Life and Honeymoon. When the artwork for the album was revealed, Krug was confirmed to have shot only the HMV exclusive cover. The photographer for the album cover photoshoot and the standard artwork was Charlie Grant. The back cover was shot by Izak Rappaport.

Release and promotion[]

Del Rey took to Instagram on May 21, 2020, to announce the album's release date.[8][dead link] While the album was originally planned to be released on September 5, 2020, it was pushed back. The announcement came at the end of an Instagram post, in which Del Rey criticized double standards for women in the music industry.

During a book signing event for the poetry book Violet Bent Backwards Over The Grass, on October 2, 2020, Del Rey advised that the album would be released on either December 10, 2020, or January 7, 2021. She explained that the delay was due to the production process of vinyl.[9][dead link]

On November 4, 2020, during an Instagram livestream, Del Rey said that the production process of the vinyl release would take at least 16 weeks, but the vinyl plant had not opened yet. She advised the production of the vinyl was set to begin in March 2021.[10][dead link]

On December 18, 2020, ten new Shazam entries were discovered on Del Rey's profile. The Shazam links were later deactivated, but gave an indication that the tracks were expected to appear on the record.

On January 10, 2021, Del Rey announced the official tracklist, and revealed the album cover and back cover, on her social media accounts. The following day, the album release date of March 19 was announced via the description of the music video for "Chemtrails Over the Country Club".

The album was officially released worldwide on all platforms on March 19, 2021.

Physical releases[]

To promote the album, Del Rey released several vinyl, CD, and cassette variants; some of which have alternative artwork. These releases are compiled in the following galleries.

Vinyl releases[]

CD releases[]

Cassette releases[]

Singles[]

The album's first single, titled "Let Me Love You like a Woman", was released worldwide on October 16, 2020. The lead single from the record Chemtrails Over the Country Club was released on January 11, 2021. That same day, Del Rey confirmed in a BBC One interview that the third single would be titled "White Dress" and it was released on March 19, 2021. On March 26, 2021, "Tulsa Jesus Freak" was added to BBC Radio 1 Playlist, being the first song of the era sent to radio and the first since "Doin' Time".

Critical reception[]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 81/100[11]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 4/5 starsStar fullStar fullStar fullStar empty[12]
Beats Per Minute (website) 70%[13]
NME 5/5 starsStar fullStar fullStar fullStar full[14]
Pitchfork 7.5/10[15]
The Guardian 3/5 starsStar fullStar fullStar emptyStar empty[16]
The Times 4/5 starsStar fullStar fullStar fullStar empty[17]

Chemtrails over the Country Club received acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 81 based on 26 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

In a review for AllMusic, Fred Thomas stated that "with seventh album Chemtrails Over the Country Club, Del Rey shakes off the cocoon of her slick pop days completely, continuing the nuanced songwriting and hushed perspectives of Norman Fucking Rockwell! and turning in her most atmospheric set of songs to date."[18] Will Hodgkinson of The Times assigned the album a rating of 4 out of 5 stars and called it both "beautifully executed" and "thoughtfully realised".[17]

Commercial performance[]

The album has performed well commercially. It reached the top of local top albums rankings in the United Kingdom, Poland, Switzerland, and Portugal.[19] It debuted on second place on the Billboard 200 list in the United States, earning 75,000 album-equivalent units, with 58,000 pure sales, including 16,200 CDs, almost 31,600 vinyl LPs and 800 cassettes, and 9,700 digital sales.[20][21]

The record debuted at number two on iTunes Worldwide, with a number-one debut in UK, Germany, and Australia, and a second place in the United States.[22]

The album's vinyl version became the fastest-selling vinyl of the century for a female performer in the United Kingdom.[23] In the United States, the album had the fourth-largest sales week for a vinyl album since MRC Data began tracking sales in 1991. It also debuted at the top of the Vinyl Albums and Tastemaker Albums charts.[21]

Charts and certifications[]

Year-end charts[]

Chart (2021) Position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[24] 48
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[25] 93
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[26] 90
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[27] 31
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[28] 76
UK Albums (Official Charts)[29] 96

Certifications[]

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[30] Silver 60,000

Tracklist[]

Lana Del Rey posted the tracklist on January 10, along with the cover art. The album has 11 tracks, 10 of which are produced by Jack Antonoff and one which is produced by Rick Nowels.

No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "White Dress"  Lana Del Rey, Jack AntonoffAntonoff, Del Rey 5:33
2. "Chemtrails Over the Country Club"  Del Rey, AntonoffAntonoff, Del Rey 4:31
3. "Tulsa Jesus Freak"  Del Rey, AntonoffAntonoff, Del Rey 3:35
4. "Let Me Love You like a Woman"  Del Rey, AntonoffAntonoff 3:20
5. "Wild at Heart"  Del Rey, AntonoffAntonoff, Del Rey 4:06
6. "Dark But Just a Game"  Del Rey, AntonoffAntonoff, Del Rey 3:55
7. "Not All Who Wander Are Lost"  Del Rey, AntonoffAntonoff, Del Rey 4:07
8. "Yosemite"  Del Rey, Rick NowelsNowels 5:04
9. "Breaking Up Slowly" (featuring Nikki Lane)Del Rey, LaneAntonoff, Del Rey 2:57
10. "Dance Till We Die"  Del Rey, AntonoffAntonoff, Del Rey 4:03
11. "For Free" (featuring Weyes Blood & Zella Day)Joni MitchellAntonoff, Del Rey 4:11
Total length:
45:28

Original tracklist[]

On May 16, 2021, a user on Reddit posted a photo of a page ripped from one of Del Rey's sketchbooks on display at Electric Lady Studios, where the album was partially recorded, with an early draft of the tracklisting. Some song titles were shortened or were changed before the official release.[31]

  1. Chem Trails Over the Country Club
  2. Let Me Luv You Like a Woman
  3. It's Dark but Just a Game
  4. -
  5. White Hot Forever
  6. Waitress
  7. Dance Till We Die
  8. Loved You Then and Now
  9. -
  10. Wild Wild at Heart ♡
  11. For Free

Scrapped tracks[]

You can find the full Chemtrails Over the Country Club outtake list here.

"Loved You Then and Now" is speculated to be a working title for "Rock Candy Sweet".[S 1] The song was supposed to be the title track for her seventh major-label studio album Blue Banisters, at the time titled Rock Candy Sweet, but after a major overhaul, it didn't make the final cut.

In an interview with Jack Antonoff, Del Rey discussed including "Dealer" on the album.[5] She later told a fan that it was tentatively being included as track 8.[9][dead link] The song ultimately didn't make the final cut. However, it was repurposed for her follow up record, Blue Banisters.

In March 2020, Del Rey posted a screenshot of her voice memo app via Instagram which showed two files. One was titled "Grenadine quarantine 2" and the second was titled "If this is the end ...I want a boyfriend". The two titles were later confirmed to be earlier versions of the fifth track of Blue Banisters, "Black Bathing Suit". Although the song may have been written or originated in this era, it is also possible that the song was never intended for this album, as she did mention that she was working on two albums at the same time.

Personnel[]

Performance[]

  • Lana Del Rey — vocals (all tracks); background vocals (all tracks)
  • Nikki Lane — vocals (track 9)
  • Weyes Blood — vocals (track 11)
  • Zella Day — vocals (track 11)

Instruments[]

  • Aaron Sterling — drums (track 8), bongos (track 8), tambourine (track 8)
  • Daniel Heath — strings (track 2)
  • Evan Smith — horns (tracks 2, 10), brass band (tracks 5, 11)
  • Jack Antonoff — 12-string acoustic guitar (tracks 2, 5, 6, 7), acoustic guitar (track 4), bass (tracks 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11), drums (tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10), guitar (tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11), Hammond B3 (track 4), keyboards (track 2), mellotron (tracks 2, 5, 6, 10, 11), organ (track 7), percussion (tracks 3, 4, 6), piano (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11), programming (track 4), rhodes (track 10), slide guitar (track 4), strings (track 3), synthesizer (tracks 3, 5, 6)
  • Mikey Freedom Hart — pedal steel (track 9)
  • Rick Nowels — bass guitar (track 8), acoustic guitar (track 8), keyboards (track 8), bass (track 8)
  • Trevor Yasuda — synthesizer (track 8)

Technical, songwriting, and production[]

  • Lana Del Rey — songwriting (all tracks except 11), production (all tracks except 4, 8)
  • Jack Antonoff — songwriting (all tracks except 8, 11), production (all tracks except 8), mixing (all tracks except 8)
  • John Christopher Fee — engineering (track 8)
  • Chris Gehringer — mastering (all tracks)
  • Kieron Menzies — engineering (track 8), mixing (track 8)
  • Joni Mitchell — songwriting (track 11)
  • Rick Nowels — songwriting (track 8), production (track 8)
  • Dean Reid — engineering (track 8), mixing (track 8)
  • John Rooney — assistant recording engineer (all tracks except 8)
  • Jon Sher — assistant recording engineer (all tracks except 8)
  • Laura Sisk — mixing (all tracks except 8), engineering (all tracks except 8)
  • Trevor Yasuda — engineering (track 8)

References[]

  1. Horner, Al (August 30, 2019). "Lana Del Rey: ‘Trump’s personality problem is hurting people and encouraging violence’". The Times. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/lana-del-rey-interview-trump-is-hurting-people-and-encouraging-violence-h5q9cxzsd. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  2. Lana Del Rey (2020) Nobody gets to tell your story. Instagram. Posted: May 25, 2020. Accessed January 11, 2021.
  3. Del Rey, Lan (August 7, 2020). "Tulsa Jesus freak". facebook.com. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=saved&v=683368445595360. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  4. Del Rey, Lana (September 1, 2020). "On the set of…… @neilkrug 📸 @_brthr_ 🎥". Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CEmyvtdh03d/.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Antonoff, Jack (September 8, 2020). "Who is Lana Del Rey?". Interview. https://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/who-is-lana-del-rey-jack-antonoff-september-poetry-cover. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Del Rey, Lana (October 22, 2020). "Things aren’t always the way they appear to be down at the country club @_brthr_ @yourgirlchuck @dakota_raine @valvogt @missalexkaye". Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CGp0KLopYTM/.
  7. Del Rey, Lana (October 22, 2020). "Suck it.". Twitter. Archived from the original on October 22, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201022185105/https://twitter.com/LanaDelRey/status/1319323133204221954.
  8. 8.0 8.1 Del Rey, Lana (May 21, 2020). Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CAcQPuBJdir/.
  9. 9.0 9.1 "Lana Del Rey at the Violet Bent Backwards Over The Grass book signing event". YouTube. October 2, 2020. https://youtu.be/x1NihLE3wmo.
  10. The November 4, 2020 Instagram live
  11. "Chemtrails Over the Country Club by Lana Del Rey Tracks and Reviews". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/music/chemtrails-over-the-country-club/lana-del-rey. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  12. Thomas, Fred. "Chemtrails over the Country Club – Lana Del Rey | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. https://www.allmusic.com/album/chemtrails-over-the-country-club-mw0003471467. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  13. Sentz, Tim (March 19, 2021). "BPM Review". https://beatsperminute.com/album-review-lana-del-rey-chemtrails-over-the-country-club/. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  14. Daly, Rhian (March 18, 2021). "Lana Del Rey – ‘Chemtrails Over The Country Club' review: a sublime statement". https://www.nme.com/?p=2903294. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  15. Tavakoli, Mina (March 19, 2021). "Lana Del Rey: Chemtrails Over the Country Club". https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/lana-del-rey-chemtrails-over-the-country-club/. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  16. Petridis, Alexis (March 19, 2021). "Lana Del Rey: Chemtrails Over the Country Club review – the same old love story". https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/mar/19/lana-del-rey-chemtrails-over-the-country-club-review. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  17. 17.0 17.1 Hodgkinson, Will (March 18, 2021). "Lana Del Rey: Chemtrails Over the Country Club review — the artist launches her best image yet. Herself". https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/lana-del-rey-chemtrails-over-the-country-club-review-the-artist-launches-her-best-image-yet-herself-h0jszvjgf. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  18. Thomas, Fred. "Lana Del Rey – Chemtrails Over the Country Club". https://www.allmusic.com/album/chemtrails-over-the-country-club-mw0003471467. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  19. "Chemtrails Over The Country Club (album) by Lana Del Rey - Music Charts". acharts.co. https://acharts.co/album/161627#stats. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  20. Caulfield, Keith (March 28, 2021). "Justin Bieber Scores Eighth No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With ‘Justice’". Billboard. https://www.billboard.com/pro/justin-bieber-justice-tops-billboard-200/. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  21. 21.0 21.1 Caulfield, Keith (March 29, 2021). "Lana Del Rey’s ‘Chemtrails Over the Country Club’ Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales Chart". Billboard. https://www.billboard.com/pro/lana-del-rey-chemtrails-over-the-country-club-top-album-sales-chart/. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  22. "Worldwide iTunes Album Chart". kworb.net. March 19, 2021. https://kworb.net/aww/archive/20210319.html. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  23. Griffiths, George (March 26, 2021). "Lana Del Rey lands fifth UK Number 1 album and sets vinyl record". Official Charts UK. https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/lana-del-rey-lands-fifth-uk-number-1-and-one-of-the-fastest-selling-vinyl-albums-of-the-century-with-chemtrails-over-the-country-club__32776/. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  24. "Jaaroverzichten 2021". Ultratop. https://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=2021&cat=a. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  25. "Rapports annuels 2021". Ultratop. https://www.ultratop.be/fr/annual.asp?year=2021&cat=a. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  26. "Dutch Charts - dutchcharts.nl". Dutchcharts. https://dutchcharts.nl/jaaroverzichten.asp?year=2021&cat=a. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  27. "Top Portuguese Albums - Year-end 2021". BestSellingAlbums.org. https://bestsellingalbums.org/year-end/Portugal_Top_Albums_2021. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  28. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2021 - Alben". hitparade.ch. https://hitparade.ch/charts/jahreshitparade/2021/alben. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  29. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 - 2021". Official Charts UK. https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/end-of-year-artist-albums-chart/20210101/37502/. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  30. "British album certifications – Lana Del Rey – Chemtrails over the Country Club". British Phonographic Industry. https://www.bpi.co.uk/award/17422-3320-2.
  31. angelwitprblmz (May 16, 2021). "I have a friend who works at a certain studio and she sent me this. Peep an unreleased track and some alternate song titles + tracklisting.". Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/lanadelrey/comments/ndskhv/i_have_a_friend_who_works_at_a_certain_studio_and/. Retrieved June 16, 2023.

Notes[]


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