Released 8th November on Streamline/Interscope
Electronic/ Dance/ Pop
Back again with a brand new third album the grand dame of pop music Lady Gaga has given us her latest offering ARTPOP, and it appears that with this new record she is continuing on with her slow transformation into a Madonna clone.
The vocal lines on this record just don’t have the same harsh power that they had one something like The Fame Monster, but instead they conform to a much more usual powerpop style echoing Cher and Madonna. It’s not bad, but it’s not exciting either. My objection to it is that it Gaga was once a rather interesting musician, but now I’ve got nothing to sink my teeth into and all I’m expected to do is dance. I mean the relentless four to the floor pounding in each and every single track really does make you want to move your feet, but it just doesn’t have the same depth or intelligence as her earlier work.
Another issue I have with this one is that there is a definite sense both lyrically and musically that she has made it her mission to offend the conservatives out there and solidify the ‘us versus them’ mentality of her ‘little monsters’. “Uranas/Your Anus. Don’t you know my ass is famous” she sneers into the mic during Venus, and I ask you what one earth it was in aid of? And do I even need to say anthing about the ludicrously raunchy Sexxx Dreams. Pointless sex for shock value and little more. I mean, she used to be self-conscious about her controversies, but now she seems to perform them like some sort of duty.
Musically, however, this record does have its merits. She’s abandoned any semblance of a blues base in favour of pure hard-disco music and she really does know how to compose. Hard trance that glitches in all the right places, synth hooks that grab instantly, and beats that pound until you have no choice but to dance. Still though, none of this really sets her outside the mainstream for what’s going on in dance music today, all it does is make her an example of the higher side of standard. I guess I just miss the days when she was doing something interesting with her music. I mean, danceable as it is, nothing on ARTPOP comes close to the disco-dance blues of Teeth or Brown Eyes.
Really I just have to say that I was somewhat disappointed with this record. To my mind The Fame Monster was one of the more exciting out and out pop records that has been releases in recent times, and ARTPOP just doesn’t live up to the expectations that that album laid out. I mean, it is rather good, but it in comparison to the well thought out work of early days it becomes an insignificant piece of pop.
I suppose what I’m getting at here is that art is ain’t, no matter what she says. I don’t care how nude she gets and how many marriage equality rallies she attends this is just not really art. It’s needlessly shocking, vapid, and vain, and there’s not enough actual substance in it to support all of her pretensions. If you just want to dance the night away, however, I’d give this one a nod.
RATING: C+
Related articles
- Interscope loses $25 million promotional bet on Lady Gaga ‘ArtPop’ bomb (kingsofar.com)
- Lady Gaga: ‘ARTPOP’ is Platinum in Canada! (justjared.com)
- 10 Reasons to Not Roll Your Eyes at Lady Gaga’s ARTPOP (huffingtonpost.com)
- Lady Gaga Gets Serious at Disco With Crazed ‘Artpop’ CD – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
- Lady Gaga’s $25 Million Art Machine Can’t Buy a Real Hit (businessweek.com)
- Lady Gaga – ARTPOP (Album Review) (musicreloaduk.com)
- Lady Gaga’s ‘Artpop’ Leaks – Listen To The Stream Here (hollywoodlife.com)
- Lady Gaga – ARTPOP (dazeddigital.com)
- Lady Gaga’s ‘ARTPOP’ Flop Expected to Lose Label Reported $25M in Marketing Costs (thewrap.com)
- Lady Gaga Earned Her 3rd UK No.1 Album With The Debut Of ‘ARTPOP’ (contactmusic.com)
Filed under: Album Review
