(LOOTPRESS) – Lana Del Rey has proven herself in recent years to be one of the most prolific consistent workers in the pop music industry, never going more than a couple of years without releasing new material and dropping two full-length projects in 2021 alone in the form of Chemtrails over the Country Club in March and Blue Banisters in October. The artist formerly known as Lizzy Grant reemerged on the scene Wednesday with the release of a brand-new single, “Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd.”
The song arrives ahead of a forthcoming album of the same name set for release in March of 2023, and finds Del Rey exploring familiar territory both sonically and lyrically.
Featuring characteristically romantic allusions to American culture and the geographic makeup of the West Coast, the somber piano ballad wouldn’t have sounded out of place on 2019’s Norman F*cking Rockwell!. This should come as little surprise, as the song sees the return of producer Jack Antonoff who worked extensively on the 2019 LP, as well as Taylor Swift’s 2022 LP Midnights which featured a collaboration and cowrite between the three in the form of “Snow on the Beach.”
As for the content, the aching ballad appears to present the titular tunnel as a metaphor for the human spirit and how wonderful people and places are often thoughtlessly dismissed due to lack of perceived value in the utility-centric, hyper-capitalist society in which we find ourselves in the present day.
This comparison is evident in the closing line of the first verse lamenting the “handmade beauty sealed up by two man-made walls.”
The tune makes reference to some significant points in American music including “Hotel California” and Harry Nilsson’s 1974 album Pussy Cats produced by John Lennon. The latter allusion emphasizes a “break” in Nilsson’s voice, as the delicate songsmith’s vocal chords would undergo irreparable damage during album’s sessions and he would never again reach the vocal heights exhibited on earlier works such as 1971’s Nilsson Schmilsson.
The repeated refrain of “don’t forget me” in the chorus section of “Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd” is likely making reference to the track of the same name on the Pussy Cats album as a sort of lyrical collage of dejection, which at perhaps its most poignantly posits simply, “love me until I love myself.”
As for the titular tunnel referenced throughout the single, it does in fact exist, and the Long Beach Public Library took time to shed some light on the historical fixture Wednesday through Twitter stating,
“Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd? Yup! It’s called the Jergins Tunnel and it opened in 1928 and closed to the public in 1967. The tunnel ran under Ocean Blvd. and provided access to the Pike and beach, via the Jergins Trust building at 100 E. Ocean Boulevard.”
Lana Del Rey’s ninth full-length studio album Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd is set to hit shelves on March 10, 2023. The title track can be heard at Lana Del Rey’s official YouTube channel.
Additional LOOTPRESS coverage of upcoming music releases can be found here.