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Ultraviolence at first seems better than it is. The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, who produced much of the record, turns out to be Del Rey's ideal creative partner, crafting lush walls of sound that evoke her favorite cultural era, a time when the prim and surface-level 1960s were just starting their slide into drug-fueled decadence. “Cruel World” is a six-minute dirge that 30 years ago might have been sung by Bonnie Tyler, its twangy guitars and thudding drums exploding at just the right moments. The title track’s gorgeous chorus dresses up a song where love and physical abuse are intertwined. Del Rey’s angelic interval leap on the chorus of “Shades of Cool” ”
