Fans rejoice: Lana Del Rey has returned! On Wednesday, Sept. 12, Del Rey released the song, “Mariners Apartment Complex,” during a BBC Radio One interview with Annie Mac. Opening with the beautiful piano work of producer Jack Antonoff, the song slowly fills to include Del Rey’s signature violins and layers of acoustic and electric guitars, creating the nostalgic sound the singer is famous for.
Del Rey begins by lowly crooning, “You took my sadness out of context/ At the Mariners Apartment Complex/ I ain’t no candle in the wind,” a line that supposedly came from a conversation with her ex-boyfriend.
Del Rey told Annie Mac that she was extremely saddened when her ex-boyfriend told her he felt they belonged together because they were “both really messed up,” and thus wrote this song reflecting upon this revelation. She explains, “I thought, ‘I’ve had to do this so many times,’ where you know, like, I had to sort of step into that role where I was showing the way and I was sort of being the brighter light.”
This concept of being the brighter light, or leading someone in a relationship, is expanded upon in the song’s second verse, “I’m the board, the lightning, the thunder/ Kind of girl who’s gonna make you wonder/ Who you are and who you’ve been,” as well as the third verse, “Maybe I could save you from your sins.”
Del Rey also revealed during her BBC Radio One interview that she has been working on a complete album with Antonoff since 2017, as well as a book of poetry she intends on self-publishing in 2019. The album is expected to have some “surf elements,” and the next single will be released Sept. 18.
“Mariners Apartment Complex” closes with dizzying electric guitar and beautiful layered vocals as Del Rey repeatedly whispers, “Are you ready for it?” If it is more incredible music from this talented artist, then the answer is absolutely yes.