Graeme Thomson

The Ava Gardner of the ketamine age: Lana Del Rey, at Leeds Festival, reviewed

Having to headline this post-GCSE results, mid-teen bacchanal did not serve the nuances of her music well

There is a stillness, a blankness, about her persona that is fascinating, even at scale: Lana Del Rey performing at Leeds Festival. Photo: Matthew Baker / Getty Images for ABA 
issue 31 August 2024

As the American superstar starts singing another slow, sad, rather beautiful song, my mind begins to drift. I’m thinking that our appreciation of music is so much about the who, the when and perhaps most crucially the where; the significance of place is an under-examined element in our relationship with what we’re hearing at any given moment.

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