Chromatica by Lady Gaga | Album Review
The sixth album from the artpop icon sees a return to form by celebrating classic 90s dance music.
Considering the tremendous shift in our collective way of life spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us are now much more aware of our mental health than we ever have before, myself included. Everyone found themselves impacted in some way, from the everyday Joe to the biggest star, even one Lady Gaga.
Gaga had been grappling with her mental health well before the pandemic. Since the chaotic creation and rollout of her fourth album Artpop, she’s gone on a journey of therapizing herself, processing her feelings on her status, work-life balance, and traumas she endured throughout. On her country-influenced fifth album Joanne, she processed her grief for lost family members and conflicted inner feelings, but failed to get to the heart of her struggles:
“I used to wake up in the morning, and I would realize I was ‘Lady Gaga.’ And then I became very depressed and sad, and I didn’t want to be myself,” Gaga told People Magazine. “I felt threatened by the things my career brought into my life and the pace of my life.”
She found that going back to the things she loves most in music, particularly the synthetic but soulful strains of 90s house music, helped temper her feelings and bring her into a more positive headspace. Thus, the foundations for her sixth album Chromatica were laid, and on top of them, she built some of the 2020s’ first pop classics.
Her first two singles from this project definitely fit that description, songs that will prove influential and memorable at the end of the decade and beyond. “Stupid Love” kicked off the album rollout, and it couldn’t have been a more perfect song for the early pandemic days. Even though we were cooped up in our houses, scared about the uncertainty of the future, we had this joyous ode to the healing power of love. This track, with its warbling house bass and processed vocal passages, also served as a portent of the massive 90s nostalgia wave that crashed all over the early 2020s.
Follow-up single “Rain On Me,” featuring Ariana Grande, felt even more fitting for the pandemic, exploring resilience in the face of hardship and the healing power of crying. Gaga and Grande’s vocals combine wonderfully on the chorus, and I love the house-influenced beat, with bright pianos, touches of strings, and funky guitar work.
But Gaga also had fun playing with the format of the album as a whole, in addition to crafting each individual song. I particularly love how she wrote and arranged orchestral pieces for certain points in the album, signaling a shift in the musical story. They result in some of the most impactful musical moments on Chromatica, particularly the dramatic shift from “Chromatica II” to “911.”
“911” lands some of the record’s most powerful blows, as Gaga discusses the positive impact her prescribed antipsychotic medication has had on her life. Over pounding bass and beeping synths, she describes each pill as a “911,” an emergency reset allowing her to regain control of her mind.
And the hits truly keep on coming with Chromatica, as she serves banger after banger in the album’s midsection. I’m especially fond of the driving power pop of “Plastic Doll,” the incredibly fun deep house of “Sour Candy” featuring Blackpink, and one of Gaga’s most humongous vocal performances on “Enigma.”
If I had to nitpick, “Sine From Above” is a bit of a strange number. Gaga and Elton John’s voices don’t really mesh that well, and the song overall comes off disjointed.
But any doubts I have about Chromatica are washed away with “1000 Doves,” a fantastic dance-pop ballad with wonderfully full bass and propelling house pianos. After an album that thoroughly explores societal and personal demons, this track is a breath of fresh air. Gaga shows that, even in the face of overwhelming struggle, you can fly with a little help from your friends:
Lift me up, give me a start
’Cause I’ve been flying with some broken arms
Lift me up, just a small nudge
And I’ll be flying like a thousand doves.
Production: 9/10
Lyrics: 8/10
Songwriting: 7/10
Overall: 8/10
Favorites: Stupid Love, Rain On Me, 911, Enigma
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Thank you for reading! What did you think of this album? Leave a comment with your thoughts, and I’ll see you in the next review!