Hear Lana Del Rey’s isolated vocals for ‘Mariners Apartment Complex’
Following 2017’s Lust for Life, Lana Del Rey released her highly acclaimed sixth studio album Norman Fucking Rockwell! two years later, teasing it with the single ‘Mariner’s Apartment Complex’.
The album marked the first of many collaborations between Del Rey and producer Jack Antonoff, who worked together to create a soft-rock sound, complete with piano ballads and psychedelic influences. Norman Fucking Rockwell! was nominated for Album of the Year at the 62nd Grammy Awards, and the title track was nominated for Song of the Year.
Alongside singles’ Venice Bitch’, ‘Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman Like Me to Have – but I Have It’, ‘Doin’ Time’, ‘The Greatest’ and ‘Norman Fucking Rockwell’, ‘Mariners Apartment Complex’ demonstrated a distinctive departure from the hip-hop and pop influences of Lust for Life. Yet, Del Rey’s exploration into a more mature and reflective sound paid off, and Norman Fucking Rockwell! remains one of the artist’s strongest albums.
Discussing the folk-inspired rock ballad, Del Rey shared, “The song is about this time I took a walk late at night with a guy I was seeing, and we stopped in front his friend’s apartment complex, and he put his hand around my shoulder, and he said “I think we are together because we’re both similar, like we’re both really messed up” and I thought it was the saddest thing I’d ever heard.”
She continued, “I said, “I’m not sad. I didn’t know that’s why you thought you were relating to me on that level, I’m actually doing pretty good”. And he was upset, and that’s when I wrote the song.” Inspired by the countless times she’s had to “step on that role where I was showing the way and I was sort of being the brighter light,” Del Rey penned the track, which is one of the album’s standouts.
Del Rey debuted the song on BBC Radio 1’s Future Sounds with Annie Mac, allowing her to share her song on a wider scale than expected. “I sort of thought I would just put it out and it would be one of those things that I felt good about just to have out there for myself, but it’s cool to be able to share it with people too.”
Lyrically, Del Rey rejects the image of herself as weak and dependent on male figures. Instead, she takes control of the male subject, singing, “You lose your way, just take my hand/ You’re lost at sea, then I’ll command your boat to me again/ Don’t look too far, right where you are, that’s where I am/ I’m your man, I’m your man.”
The full weight of Del Rey’s lyrical offerings and the richness of her voice can be appreciated even further by listening to the isolated vocal track for ‘Mariner’s Apartment Complex’. The singer sounds self-assured and mature, a stark contrast from the often-playful delivery of songs such as ‘Lolita’ from her 2012 album Born to Die.
Listen to the isolated vocals below:
