Art Deco (song)

Background and composition

"Art Deco" is four minutes and fifty-five seconds long. The song features a trap beat that has been described as "skeletal" by The Guardian's Kitty Empire, and "lazy" by Consequence of Sound's Nina Corcoran. Billboard believed the song to showcase Del Rey's "fervor for "1920s American culture". Nick Levine of Time Out noted a "dash of jazz" present on "Art Deco". According to Lucas Villa of AXS, "Art Deco" synthesizes the jazz influence and noir aesthetic present on Honeymoon with various influences, such as Del Rey's "trap queen side" present on "High by the Beach", a "lady-sings-the-blues" aesthetic shown on "Honeymoon" and "Terrence Loves You", and Born to Die's "trip hop sounds". Villa described the song's instrumentation as including "[t]olling trip hop synths" in the song's intro, a saxophone section, and heavy percussion, which is present throughout the song. Lyrically, Villa believed the song to feature Del Rey telling a story about a "queen of the party scene". Melissa Maerz of Entertainment Weekly called the song "syrup-screwed" and said that it has a "hip-hop edge". Harley Brown of Spin believed Del Rey's vocal delivery on "Art Deco" to be "the most inviting it has ever been".
"Art Deco" has been rumored, by online media outlets such as Billboard and Inquisitr, to be about rapper Azealia Banks, despite the apparent camaraderie between the two recording artists around the time of Honeymoon's release. In an interview with NME, Del Rey dismissed the rumors, saying: "Definitely not. I have no idea where people got that from. I just don't know what the correlation is. That song is actually about a group of teenagers who go out every night."

Critical reception

The song received generally positive reviews from music critics. Popjustice deemed "Art Deco" the "best non-single" of Honeymoon. Patrick Ryan of USA Today called "Art Deco" a highlight of Honeymoon, and praised how the saxophone riffs present in the song added "jazz flair" to the song. Lucas Villa of AXS deemed "Art Deco" a "decadent delight", and called it the "strongest" track on Honeymoon, with particular praise from Villa on the song's diverse influences. Lindsay Zoldadz, writing for Vulture, praised the line "You're so Art Deco, out on the floor", calling it "the quintessential Lana Del Rey lyric".
Amy Davidson of Digital Spy praised the song for adding an "interesting" aspect to Del Rey's persona on Honeymoon. In a mixed review of "Art Deco", Jessica Hopper of Pitchfork called the song "a highlight [of Honeymoon] that curdles when the careless phrase 'You're so ghetto' comes out in the chorus", overall deeming it a "tonal misfire". Similarly, Mike Wass of Idolator called the song "lyrically questionable", though praised the song for having "a slick groove and an instantly hummable chorus". Peter Tabakis of Pretty Much Amazing gave the song a negative review, criticizing the rhyme of  “you're so Art Deco” with “baby, you're so ghetto”. Sam C. Mac of Slant also gave the song a negative review, calling it an "empty appropriation" of "sub-Gaga posturing".