''Kill Kill'' is the debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(EP) by American singer-songwriter

Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia, with frequent ...

, released under her former name, Lizzy Grant, on October 21, 2008, in the United States through 5 Points Records. The three songs on the EP would later be included on the 2010 album '' Lana Del Ray''. "Yayo" would later be re-recorded and released a third time, on Del Rey's 2012 EP, ''Paradise''. "Kill Kill" was the EP's only single. A music video accompanied the track and was published in 2008.

Background and composition

The title track, "Kill Kill", was originally titled "The Ocean"; however, the title changed after a record producer dismissed the name as "boring". In frustration, Del Rey crossed out "The Ocean" above the lyrics, and wrote "Kill Kill" in place of a title.

"Yes, when I recorded with Davey (
David Kahne David Kahne is an American record producer, musician, composer, and former record company executive. Professional career Kahne started his musical career as a working musician and soon became Director of A&R for America's first punk and new ...
), we recorded 13 songs. So I was never expecting to release an EP, but when
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came to us, and became fervent supporters and said, "put out anything and we'll give you the artist's spotlight". We decided, okay, we'll just put out an EP, which was released on October 21".

In an interview, Del Rey called the EP's genre " Hawaiian

glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam r ...

". Artists that influenced the EP's sound include

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

Poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

, and

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

Songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

and producer

David Nichtern David Nichtern (born 19 February 1948) is an American songwriter and television composer, soundtrack artist and Buddhist teacher of the Shambala tradition of Chögyam Trungpa. Biography Born and raised in Manhattan, Nichtern is the son of Sol Nic ...

revealed to

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that ''Kill Kill'' was a way for Del Rey and her team to generate some buzz before releasing a fully produced studio album. Writing for ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'', Felicia C. Sullivan said that the EP was "decidedly anti-genre", containing elements of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

, pop,

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

, and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

Critical reception

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'' called ''Kill Kill'' "lush and cinematic, with

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

s, and

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

s". On the three tracks, Del Rey's voice was called "gravelly" and inspired by

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

. Felicia C. Sullivan, a journalist for ''

'', wrote that Del Rey's vocals were haunting and soulful on ''Kill Kill''. Lyrically, ''Kill Kill'' was called dark, poetic, and elegant. Of the videos shot for ''Kill Kill'', Sullivan said they were "quirky, odd, ndmagical", stating that Del Rey must be "infatuated with

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

". Sullivan said it was safe to say that the tracks of ''Kill Kill'' tell the story of a "precocious, but strong-willed woman on display". Del Rey endorsed the critique, adding that she:

"... didn't feel trapped in a trailer park. I felt trapped before I got to the trailer park because I had nowhere to live. When I got my trailer, everyone there had the same taste as I did. We all liked giant, lush, fake flower gardens and liked to decorate the walls with streamers even if it wasn't our birthday. I couldn't have been happier there. Before that, I did dream of escaping. I always just figured it was gonna be a man who would take me away. I don't know if I deserve a good man, but I think about it sometimes".

Shirley Halperin of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' noted the EP differs from the tone and sound of Del Rey's debut major label single, "

Video Games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

", which gained Del Rey significant mainstream attention. More specifically, Halperin described a contrast in "Video Games", and Del Rey's works before "Video Games", including ''Kill Kill'', with the former having contained a "breathy, melancholy musings", and the latter having contained a "jazz-meets-electronica lounge" sound.

Track listing

All songs produced by

David Kahne David Kahne is an American record producer, musician, composer, and former record company executive. Professional career Kahne started his musical career as a working musician and soon became Director of A&R for America's first punk and new ...

References

{{Authority control 2008 debut EPs Lana Del Rey albums Albums produced by David Kahne