Lana Del Ray is heaven to hipsters everywhere

Ever since it became clear that she was going to transcend the status of indie goddess and rise to mainstream popularity, Lana Del Rey has drawn the ire of hipsters worldwide.

Detractors sought to dismantle her from every angle possible, from questioning the size of her lips to questioning her decision to take on a stage name (her birth name is Lizzy Grant), to calling her Saturday Night Live performance the worst in history (it definitely wasn't).

So with last week's debut of her album, ‘Born to Die,' Del Rey had one chance to prove her critics wrong. And for the most part, she has. Those who hate her will still undoubtedly mock her, but for the rest of us, her debut album represents a fresh and entertaining new direction.

From the start of its title track, Del Rey shows her knack for the unique and unexpected. The song is all at once dark, playful, moving, and has an eerily hypnotic quality to it—even if you can't quite catch its meaning.

That atmosphere permeates much of the album. Even her single ‘Video Games,' which catapulted her to YouTube fame, carries the same weirdly alluring vibe. Perhaps the joy of being in the presence of a boyfriend who would rather be caressing an Xbox controller than holding you isn't the most obvious theme for a love song, but Del Rey makes it compelling nevertheless.

At times, however, the melancholy mood can be somewhat overbearing; ‘Dark Paradise' and ‘Summertime Sadness' are just two obvious examples of this, but even the innocuously titled ‘Blue Jeans' deals with depressing subject matter while still retaining a beautiful sound.

Yet Del Rey manages to accent even the most mournful of tunes with a devil-may-care cheekiness that betrays her love for the antics of old Hollywood. In ‘Video Games,' she innocently inquires, "I heard that you like the bad girls, honey / Is that true?"

Yet not all songs are sad; the more upbeat "Off to the Races" is probably one of the most mainstream, radio-friendly tracks on the album. Complete with biblical allusions, references to alcohol, money and an old sugar daddy, Del Rey is certainly angling for the party-without-ceasing crowd. Yet while this song, like many on the album, is problematic for its less than feminist message, it has a fun, inviting beat. She sings:

"I'm your little harlot, starlet, Queen of Coney Island / Raising Hell all over town / Sorry ‘bout it."

Sure she is.