Lana Del Rey: 'Video Games' - Single review

We often find it difficult to avoid cringing when a relatively new artist compares themselves to a legend. Regular offender Usher most recently considered himself the new Jacko, Adam Levine has likened his artistry to glam-rock god David Bowie, and Kanye West believes he is chastised on the same level as, erm, Hitler. That said, one singer who has hit the nail on the proverbial is Lake Placid native Lana Del Rey, who boldly sums up her music and day-to-day style as "gangsta Nancy Sinatra".

It's certainly an accurate description of her debut single, which combines a near-identical vocal with her own fascination for the tragically glamorous - or "Hollywood sadcore" as she succinctly labels it. "I heard that you like the bad girls/ Honey, is that true?" she asks over a score of swathing strings David Lynch wouldn't cock a snook at as she desperately clings on to her lover. The result is an old-glamour doom-pop ballad that unashamedly lays its feelings on the line - and we all know what happened the last time a singer did that, don't we?

Watch Lana Del Rey's 'Video Games' music video below: