"Shades of Cool" is a song 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 r ...

, taken from her third studio album, '' Ultraviolence'' (2014). It was written by Del Rey and

Rick Nowels Richard Wright Nowels Jr. is an American songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and arranger. He has co-written and co-produced over 90 hit singles with multiple artists Dan Auerbach Daniel Quine Auerbach (; born May 14, 1979) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer, best known as the guitarist and vocalist of The Black Keys, a blues rock band from Akron, Ohio. As a member of the group, Auerbach has ...

. The song was released on May 26, 2014 by Interscope Records as the second single from ''Ultraviolence''. Lyrically, the single talks about an "unfixable" man. "Shades of Cool" received general acclaim from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

, who praised its musical style. Commercially, the single peaked at number 79 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and entered the top 40 of a few

record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

s in Europe. A music video for "Shades of Cool" was directed by

Jake Nava Jake Nava is a British director, mostly known for his work in music videos for Beyoncé, Arctic Monkeys, Adele, Britney Spears and The Rolling Stones. He also directs TV commercials, notably for Guinness and Levi Strauss & Co. Early life and ed ...

and was described as a film noir visual.

Composition

"Shades of Cool" was written by Del Rey and

. Composed in the key of D minor, the song runs at a moderate slow

tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

of 46 beats per minute. It was described as a

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the w ...

instrumented by "slow-burn" bassline,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

, and string instruments; the track features a guitar solo delivered by Auerbach. Del Rey's vocals span from A₃ to B₅. Her "operatic" soprano vocals blending with "trademark wailing

vibrato Vibrato ( Italian, from past participle of " vibrare", to vibrate) is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically characterised in terms ...

" create a ghostly atmosphere on "Shades of Cool". Chris Coplan from

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...

described the song as "a slow and slightly gloomy ballad." Meanwhile, "Shades of Cool" was characterized as a "seeping, atmospheric" ballad that contrasts the more "pop-savvy swaggering ' West Coast'" by '' Billboard''s Colin Stutz. On the single, Del Rey sings about an "unfixable" man: "But you are unfixable / I can’t break through your world / ‘Cause you live in shades of cool / Your heart is unbreakable."

Reception

"Shades of Cool" received positive reviews from music critics. Coplan of Consequence of Sound complimented the song for its "grace and sophistication". Saran Shetty of '' Slate'' called "Shades of Cool" "a beautiful, brooding return to form or Del Rey, and opined that the single would "fit perfectly" in a ''

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

'' theme track. Likewise, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

''s Calyn Ganz wrote that the track "would be perfect for a ''James Bond'' film directed by

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...

." Lathan Ryan from ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' positively compared Del Rey's vocals on "Shades of Cool" to those of Cocteau Twins vocalist Elizabeth Fraser, observing that "Del Rey has never sounded better". The single peaked at number 79 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It managed to enter the top 40 of a few

s: Belgian Wallonia (number 40), France (number 37), Hungary (number 19), and Spain (number 31). The single peaked at number three on the Greece Digital Songs, a chart operated by ''Billboard'' magazine.

Music video

The music video for "Shades of Cool" was directed by

and was released on June 17, 2014. The video features tattoo artist

Mark Mahoney Mark Mahoney (born 1957) is an American tattoo artist. He is considered as the founding father of black and grey art with a single needle. Biography Mark Mahoney grew up in Boston, Massachusetts. After a brief stint at the School of the Museum ...

, who also appeared in the music video for "West Coast", as Del Rey's love interest. Filmed in Los Angeles, California, the clip is a "romantic" visual depicting the streets of Los Angeles at night, a 1970s-themed neighborhood, and a pool. In the video, Del Rey dances for her love interest in "flowing" dresses. An alternative version of the visual for "Shades of Cool", which was also directed by Nava, was released in July 2014. This version, in which Del Rey is seen drowned in a pool, was described as "darker" than the original video.

Track listing

;Digital download #"Shades of Cool" – 5:42

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Ultraviolence''. ;Performance credits *

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

;Instruments *

Dan Auerbach Daniel Quine Auerbach (; born May 14, 1979) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer, best known as the guitarist and vocalist of The Black Keys, a blues rock band from Akron, Ohio. As a member of the group, Auerbach has ...

–

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 gu ...

*Collin Dupuis –

drum programming Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices and computer software, such as sequencers and workstations or hardware synthesizers, sampler and sequencers, to generate sounds of musical instruments. These ...

*Seth Kaufman –

omnichord The Omnichord is an electronic musical instrument introduced in 1981 by the Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation. It typically features a touch plate known as "Sonic Strings", preset rhythms, auto-bass line functionality, and buttons for ...

*Leon Michels – mellotron * Nick Movshon –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

*Russ Pahl –

*Kenny Vaughan – electric guitar *Maximilian Weissenfeldt – drums ;Technical and production *Dan Auerbach –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

*John Davis – mastering *Collin Dupuis – engineering * Robert Orton – mixing

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

*
"Shades of Cool" lyrics
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

{{Good article 2010s ballads 2014 singles 2014 songs Interscope Records singles Lana Del Rey songs Music videos directed by Jake Nava Rock ballads Song recordings produced by Dan Auerbach Songs written by Lana Del Rey Songs written by Rick Nowels