Chemtrails over the Country Club is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. It was released on March 19, 2021, by Interscope and Polydor Records. After working with him on her previous studio album, Norman Fucking Rockwell! (2019), Del Rey enlisted producer Jack Antonoff as her co-producer for the majority of the album, while previous collaborator Rick Nowels produced one of the album's tracks. The album features collaborations with Nikki Lane, Weyes Blood, and Zella Day.
Chemtrails over the Country Club is described as a folk, country folk, and Americana record. According to Del Rey, the album is about her friends and family. Other themes featured on the album are themes of escapism, love, heartbreak, and nostalgia, while encompassing her usual references to Americana, alongside emotions of disillusionment.
Chemtrails over the Country Club received acclaim from music critics, with many comparing its sound to its predecessor. The album debuted at number one in eight countries, including the United Kingdom, becoming Del Rey's fifth number one album in the country, and reached the top 5 in twenty countries, including the United States, where it peaked at number two on the Billboard 200, becoming Del Rey's sixth consecutive top five album in the country.
Background
Del Rey first announced the album in an interview with Time on August 30, 2019, the release of her sixth studio album, Norman Fucking Rockwell!. Originally titled White Hot Forever, it was slated for a 2020 release, with Del Rey saying that the album would be released "sometime within the next 12 or 13 months". On May 25, 2020, the album's final title was revealed to be Chemtrails over the Country Club, scheduled for a September 5, 2020 release. After the release of her debut book, Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass in 2020, Del Rey held a book signing, where she revealed that the album had been postponed due to vinyl record production delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, she revealed the title of the song "Dealer", revealing that she was uncertain about including it on the album. "Dealer" would not be included on Chemtrails over the Country Club, but eventually appeared on its follow-up Blue Banisters (2021).
On August 7, 2020, Del Rey posted a video on Instagram featuring a snippet of the track "Tulsa Jesus Freak", which would later be included on the album. On September 1, Del Rey posted a video on Instagram of herself on the set of the music video for the album title track, and announced that the album's lead single would be the song "Let Me Love You like a Woman", further stating the album would be released "soon" after.
Music and lyrics
Chemtrails over the Country Club is described as a folk, country folk, and Americana record. The majority of the album was co-produced by Del Rey, alongside Jack Antonoff who is also the sole producer of the album's lead single, "Let Me Love You like a Woman". The song "Yosemite", which was recorded during the sessions for Del Rey's fifth studio album, Lust For Life (2017), held between 2015 and 2016, was produced by Rick Nowles. The song failed to be included on Lust For Life, because, according to Del Rey, it "was too happy; we're not there yet."
Del Rey stated "so much of the album" pertains to her "stunning girlfriends" and "beautiful siblings". She further added that, "In 2021, [Chemtrails over the Country Club] opens a sunnier chapter in [Del Rey's] controversial roman-à-clef, and folk legend Joan Baez advocates her acceptance in the pantheon", adding that the album "appears to reveal a more vulnerable Del Rey" who is "lighter on the LA menace" and "more innocently emotional" than in her previous work.
The song "Breaking Up Slowly" features a guest appearance by American singer Nikki Lane, who also co-wrote the song with Del Rey. The album's closes with a cover of Joni Mitchell's "For Free" from her album Ladies of the Canyon (1970). American singers Weyes Blood and Zella Day join Del Rey on the song.
Cover artwork
On January 10, 2021, a day prior to the release of its title track, Del Rey revealed the album cover and track list of Chemtrails over the Country Club on Twitter and Instagram. The cover shows Del Rey with a number of her female friends (who also appear in the title track's music video). On January 11, retail chains Target and HMV revealed exclusive editions of the record featuring alternate cover art—a portrait photograph by Neil Krug.