On September 7, 2018, Del Rey announced that she would be releasing two new songs, with "Mariners Apartment Complex" being released the following week. She subsequently shared a snippet of the song and its accompanying music video, which was shot by her sister, Chuck Grant. The song was released on September 12 after being premiered on BBC Radio 1. In an interview preceding the premiere, Del Rey stated:
"The song is about this time I took a walk late at night with a guy I was seeing, and we stopped in front his friend's apartment complex, and he put his hand around my shoulder, and he said "I think we are together because we're both similar, like we're both really messed up" and I thought it was the saddest thing I'd ever heard. And I said, "I'm not sad, I didn't know that's why you thought you were relating to me on that level, I'm actually doing pretty good". And he was upset, and that's when I wrote the song. I thought, I had to do so many times, where you know like I had to sort of step on that role where I was showing the way and I was sort of being the brighter light. But that's why it's so cool that you’re playing it. 'Cause I thought that I'd just put it out and it would be one of those things that I'd put out just to have there for myself, but it's cool being able to share it with people too."
Music video
A music video for "Mariners Apartment Complex" was released on September 18, 2018. The video was filmed by Del Rey's photographer sister Chuck Grant.
Composition
"Mariners Apartment Complex" was characterized by Rolling Stones Ryan Reed as a folky psychedelic song. Pitchfork critic Marc Hogan described the song as "a somber 1970s-style rock ballad with piano, acoustic guitar, and swooping strings." Mark Beaumont of NME called it "a classically Del Rey smoulder of silken acoustic country music and orchestral washes."
Critical reception
The song received acclaim from music critics. Billboards Starr Bowenbank wrote that the song "features Del Rey's lush vocals against a beautiful backdrop of country-influenced guitar work, with her singing in wondrous whispers and dreamy layered harmonies about a beautiful, yet tumultuous, romance." In a review for Pitchfork, Marc Hogan stated that the song "posits a Lana Del Rey who is not only a fully rounded character but also a port in a storm, as recognizable and reassuring as the old AM radio staples the song updates." Rolling Stones Brittany Spanos opined that the song "feels like a spiritual sequel" to Leonard Cohen's "Chelsea Hotel #2", and continued: "Negating her earliest works, growing out of her previous attitudes and forsaking the image of the Good American Girl looking for a figure to make her feel wanted, desired and cool, this Del Rey has "become the daddy."" Anna Gaca from Spin noted that Del Rey "asks your understanding, your forgiveness, your grace and in return, she offers everything: her power as a cypher and her vulnerability as an individual, bottled up tight in the character of Lana Del Rey and cast into the waves." Rolling Stone and Consequence of Sound ranked "Mariners Apartment Complex" at number 6 and number 29 on their respective lists of the 50 Best Songs of 2018.
