'My Artpop could mean anything', sings Gaga on ARTPOP's title track. It's a strong track, opening with inklings of Madonna's Ray of Light before slipping into mid tempo Gaga gorgeousness. The song should reflect the quality of the entire body of work; it doesn't. This is an album so confused & directionless it causes physical pain in its worst moments. In its best moments though, it's bloody brilliant.
Being Lady Gaga isn't a relatable concept. The reason I fell in love with her debut album The Fame was the fact that this was a pop star, a pure pop star with lots of really good pop songs. There wasn't anything overly pretentious about the music, it was just a plate of pop with some wacky visuals serving as a side dish. Then she got pretentious and started being 'artistic', swapped her disco sticks for pig's heads and produced a not very good song by herself. This song, 'Venus' wasn't received well by fans when it was chosen as the 2nd single release. Thankfully this heinous decision was overruled and a much better song got released instead and did quite well. In comparison to some of the album though, 'Venus' is only mildly shit.
Lead single 'Applause' was a good way to sate her hungry fans and is akin to the catchy pop artistry of her past. The song faired well on the charts, not a number 1, but a success all the same. It's a shame that this isn't the intro song to the album. Instead we have 'Aura'... what do you say about 'Aura'? It's certainly something? It's, err, fucking insane? Those are both very valid points and yes, on first listen I was actually horrified (seeing your mum naked horrified). However, once you get past the structureless arrangement you reach a pretty hypnotic chorus that is unfortunately bookended by abrasive electronic rumbles. This roar of electronics is also a fault of 'Swine', which actually has some interesting lyricism and production... it's a shame that the two don't meld well together.
The misfires continue with 'Manicure', 'Donatella', 'Fashion!', 'Mary Jane Holland' & 'Jewels n' Drugs'. 'Manicure' is the least bad and serves as a welcome break from electro pop production and after repeated listens becomes one of the album's stronger tracks. 'Donatella' & 'Fashion!' are both pointless. The latter is a disappointment considering that Gaga recorded a song of the same name minus the '!' years ago which was actually a lot of fun, and 'Jewels n' Drugs' is perhaps the worst song on the entire album. It could even be a contender for most annoying song of the year.
I thought it would be good to get the bad bits out of the way first, so you finish this review with some hope. ARTPOP isn't the complete festering pile of faecal matter it could have been. Songs like 'G.U.Y', the title track and 'Sexxx Dreams' make a play-through worth while. 'Sexxx Dreams' is a triumph, a song so self assured it demands to be a future single release. 'I lay in bed, I touch myself & think of you...' she harmonises over thumping electro beats on a song about erotic dreams of either her gay male friend or one of her girlfriends. The verses are half spoken/half beautifully sung but the bridge slides into pure gorgeous melody before the incredible chorus comes into earshot. It's only matched by the startlingly good second single 'Do What U Want' featuring R Kelly. I'd go as far as saying these are in the top 10 Gaga songs of all time.
The album closes with two ballads and 'Applause'. 'Dope' is another promo single and is a complete U turn in sound. It's piano lead with some intense vocals and is the most vulnerable we have ever heard Gaga sound. It's 'Gypsy' that serves as a surprise album highlight. Opening with a piano solo, it seamlessly flows into an upbeat pop number, as Gaga sings 'I don't wanna be alone forever but I love gypsy life'. It's packed with euphoric energy, but none of the abrasiveness of the album's poorer tracks and Gaga's voice sounds incredible.
A 15 track album should really be an album with 15 solid songs on it. You're always bound to find a filler somewhere on a pop record, but the terrible moments on ARTPOP can't even be called fillers because I genuinely believe Gaga thought they were good ideas. Of the 15 tracks, 8 are good to brilliant, the other 7 are far below par. An EP would have been a much better idea, or perhaps taking the time to not record 7 ear stabbing songs. That said, the 8 strong songs are worth the listen. With tracks like 'Sexxx Dreams', Do What U Want' and 'Gypsy' the album can't be called a complete disaster. ARTPOP is just bit messy.
Download: Sexxx Dreams / Do What U Want / Gypsy / Dope
2/5
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