Even after selling nearly three million copies of her debut album worldwide, Lana Del Rey still faced a challenge during 2012: namely, proving to critics and prospective fans that Born to Die wasn't a fluke. In that spirit, Del Ray released Paradise, a mini-album close to Christmas, that finds her in perfect control of her voice, much more assured than she was even one year ago, and frequently capable of astonishing her listeners with a very convincing act. As for the sound, it should be familiar to fans of Born to Die, with strings that move at a glacial pace, drums that crash like waves in slow motion, and additional textures (usually electric guitar or piano) that are cinematic in their sound and references. There's really only one difference between Born to Die and Paradise, but it's a big one. Instead of acting the submitting, softcore, '60s-era plaything, here she's more of a wasted, hardcore, post-millennial plaything. She even goes so far as to tell her audience that she likes it rough (in words that earn the parental advisory sticker), to ask whether she can put on a show, and at her most explicit, proffering a simile that compares the taste of an intimate part of her anatomy to Pepsi. The inclusion of a cover, "Blue Velvet," is not only a perfect match for her style, but also a hint that she can perform up to better material. Still, all of this is merely the material for her continuing popularity and attraction. She puts it better here than anyone else, with another simile: "Like a groupie incognito posing as a real singer, life imitates art." ~ John Bush