With a whispery, wonderfully weird and witchy new single, the cult pop singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey is officially back. Released on Friday the 13th, ‘White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter’ is the first official single off her upcoming album Stove, formerly titled Lasso and The Right Person Will Stay.
‘WFHTDH’ is eerie and bewitchingly ghostly, with ominous chords and minimalist strings underscoring tension as Del Rey chants and croons about love. Her true love, her ‘WFHTDH’? Louisiana swamp tour guide husband Jeremy Dufrene, who has his first ever song writing credit on the ballad, and is undeniably her muse, her voodoo, of this song. She chants “We’re a match, he’s just in my bone marrow,” and “I love my daddy, of course we’re still together,” over the spooky gothic backing. Did anyone expect that Del Rey’s expression of true love would sound like anything less than a horror movie?
Filled with references from her past songs, moments hissed under her breath, ‘WFHTDH’ is a treat for Lana fans desperate for new music and new lore. So much of the beauty of Del Rey’s music comes from the fact that she does not shy away from doing what she wants, however experimental and weird it might be. Who knew the line “Whoopsie daisy yoo hoo, yelling I love you” could sound so threatening, and be so catchy? After all, no one does weird quite like Del Rey, and playing it safe has never suited her.
“Lana Del Rey, Coachella 2014” by Thomas Hawk is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.