Special to the Tribune
Lady Gaga made herself into a pop-culture queen, complete with ultra-loyal, and occasionally obsessive “Little Monsters.” Atop her throne, she rules an empire built around her extravagant persona. “ARTPOP” centers on Gaga’s mega-fame status and delves into her extremely public sexuality and a pop-disco take on drug culture.
Despite her fame and the buzz surrounding her return to the public eye after a brief hiatus due to a hip injury, “ARTPOP” doesn’t pack the punch many expected from such a pop queen. Although die-hard monsters will be enthralled by the mere mention of “ARTPOP,” the average Joe will come away from the album confused and unimpressed.
The songs are often repetitive, making it seem as though only so much can be done in Gaga’s self-invented avant-garde musical style. After a while, the rhythms all sound the same, and the themes lose their bizarre bite.
Yet the album is nothing if not experimental. Gaga dares to use funky artistic beats and abstract lyrics like in the past, but while popular tracks from “Born This Way” and “The Fame” were widely played, many songs on “ARTPOP” include loads of explicit language and themes, many of which can’t be bleeped out.
Quite a few of the “ARTPOP” songs are uncomfortably sexual. “X Dreams,” for instance is an explicit description of an x-rated dream Gaga had about a close friend. Though much of rap music today makeslisteners numb to overtly sexual motifs, but listening to this song in public can still make you blush. If Gaga’s goal is to shock and disturb her listeners, “X Dreams” goes above and beyond the job.
The failed experiment continues in the song “Jewels N’ Drugs,” where Gaga joins up with rappers T.I., Too $hort and Twista to manufacture a strange attempt at going hip-hop. With a voice too robotic and stiff to match her rapping counterparts, Gaga shouldn’t quit her intergalactic synth-pop day job.
But not all the risks on the album disappoint.
Gaga takes a more successful, sarcastic look at her fame in “Donatella.” The song employs a fashion runway beat to accompany lyrics that mock what women do for fame. She bashes the skinny, blonde, rich women who dominate entertainment today— though she like one of them. Especially comical are lyrics like, “Walk down the runway, but don’t puke, it’s okay/You just had a salad today, Boulangerie/Just ask your gay friends their advice before you/Get a spray tan on holiday in Taipei,” which seal the deal on a critical look at the people we look up to in the entertainment industry.
The equally satisfying “Applause,” released as a single this summer before the full album, is the reason for much of the hype surrounding “ARTPOP.” It showcases Gaga’s signature robot-with-attitude voice, and is a thank you shout-out to her dedicated fans.
But despite this initial success, the fun power house dance number “MANiCURE,” is the album’s real game changer. Gaga shows off her strong, growly vocals and rips apart an addictive chorus. The song is groovable and sure to be one of the most popular on the album; partially because it’s one of the least explicit numbers and it showcases a minor beat drop and plenty of guitar solos, giving the listener a taste of the old “Born This Way” Gaga.
Lady Gaga is nothing, if not her extravagant, on “ARTPOP.” Despite the extreme oddity and uncomfortableness of many of the numbers, we have to give her credit for not playing it safe. Many pop artists today lose their edges to record companies and pre-made lyrics, but with this release it is evident Gaga won’t succumb to the pressures of popular demands anytime soon, but is determined to stay her weird self.
3 1/2 out of 5 stars