Lana Del Rey’s “Chelsea Hotel No. 2”: Watch The Haunting New Video

Sam Lansky | March 28, 2013 5:45 am

There’s no big promotional fanfare with Lana Del Rey: When she feels like dropping a new song and a new video, she just goes for it. In the middle of the night! And of course, it’s gorgeous and heartbreaking and devastating, as usual.

The song is a cover of Leonard Cohen‘s 1974 ballad “Chelsea Hotel No. 2,” which — as Billboard notes — tells the story of a one-night-stand (which Cohen later revealed was with Janis Joplin), and Del Rey’s rendition is achingly spare and elegant: Both with her husky, noirish vocals and pared-down production and with the simple video, all dark sepia shots of Del Rey.

“Chelsea Hotel No. 2” doesn’t have the extravagant sweep of her “Ride” video, but the intimacy of the clip, directed by Ant Shurmer, is just as effective in creating a mood. Watch up top.

[via Billboard]

Tags: