In recent years, Lady Gaga has literally delighted us. By illustrating wonderfully off the beaten track, the American singer had proved capable of existing beyond the perimeter of her fans.
First there was the top-of-the-range collaboration with the jazz singer Tony Bennett, the time of a collaboration of good taste which revealed a new face of the singer, quite competent on standards of Cole Porter, Irving Berlin , Duke Ellington.
Finally, the remake of A Star is Born by Bradley Cooper had shown an even different dimension from the thirties, quite convincing in the role of a singer on the road to celebrity. By the way, the song Shallow had a nice success, and imposed a more organic sound.
The roller-compressor aspect of compositions
Today, with Chromatica , the star is making a well-orchestrated comeback. Maybe a little too much. It will not escape anyone that this sixth album, the first under his only name since 2016 intends to make her the queen of pop.
That is to say to return to competition, after a series of side steps. A way to return to current affairs, in short. The heavy artillery was therefore deployed on this disc cut to measure for the dance floors.
The problem is the steamroller aspect of generic compositions, which do not let glimpse the personality of Lady Gaga. More than ever, she seems to run after the one who remains her model, Madonna.
She therefore opted for a 100% electronic option, entrusting her songs to directors like BloodPop, BURNS, Axwell and Tchami. They have concocted a martial sound, which is like an injunction to dance at any cost.
At its peak, Madonna could rely on the class of musicians like Nile Rodgers or Patrick Leonard, when Gaga rests on ayatollahs of the beat. The result is an exhausting, breathless album, in which the artist's timbre and piano are relegated to the background. Pity.
