8/10

After the release of her breakthrough record 'Born To Die' in 2012, Lana Del Rey repeatedly went on record to say that she would never make a new album, claiming that she had said all she needed to. So it was more than surprising that less than two years later, we would be treated to another full-length of broody self-obsession under the name 'Ultraviolence'. Although rather than being an album of self-reflection, Del Rey has made this album a little more uplifting as she chooses to write about the far more happier times in her life. Not that you would be able to tell as this new record still dwells in that downbeat signature sound she has built for herself.

While on the outside, 'Ultraviolence' still sounds like the same old Del Rey, peddling darkness through her broken soul. For most of the album, you can hear this distinct attempt to be an uplifting presence, mirroring her own efforts to find happiness in what she does. The title-track 'Ultraviolence' brings out this incredibly subtle beauty to her sound and manages to convey incredible strength of character through what is mostly a sombre and beaten down record. This theme of underlying confidence is what helps bring this new album out of its emotional rut and demonstrate a feeling positive energy that is so hard to transfer to live music.

It shows that Lana Del Rey is far from just an actress conveying this broken doll image, but someone who is genuinely of this frame of mind. Making 'Ultraviolence' one of the most honest and beautiful records so far this year and will no doubt convince the doubters that Del Rey is this generation's icon of troubled youth.