An artist who built her brand on flag-draped, kitschy American patriotism suddenly turned to stare at a complex, dystopian reality. We explore Lana Del Rey's acclaimed 2019 album Norman Fucking Rockwell, a frank assessment of the psychic effects of a world spiraling into chaos.

From the working title Birdworld to the dramatic pivot into 1970s Laurel Canyon soft rock, the analog-warmth production with Jack Antonoff, and the near-ten-minute Venice Bitch that defied streaming logic, this is the album that turned Del Rey into one of our most vital songwriters.

• The shattered American myth signaled by the album's title
• The sonic shift from trip-hop to psych-pop lullabies and piano dirges
• Recording with live instruments for an intimate analog warmth
• Defying the algorithm with a nearly ten-minute promotional singl ...