Review: Lady Gaga's Chromatica sheds conflict for club-ready bangers

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Lady Gaga’s sixth album, Chromatica, sees the popstar stepping back into big pop after the experiment that was Joanne, but at what cost, asks Sam Brooks.

Since Lady Gaga’s last album, 2016’s critically shrugged off Joanne, the star has stepped as far away from her meat-dress persona as possible, collecting a Golden Globe and an Oscar to boot. But no matter how much people love Shallow – and the iconic “whoa-oh-OH-oh” that turned it into a meme – her hardcore fans have been waiting for one thing: some goddamned bangers. The soundtrack for A Star is Born has a few, but they had the sheen of character; it was Gaga in character as a trashy popstar, rather than Gaga in her full, gilded glory.

From the release of the neon-saturated Stupid Love way back in February, Chromatica signalled a return to that glory. Songs you could dance to, songs you could put on a playlist, and likely most importantly, songs you could actually see on a chart. Then the second single, the excellent disco-soaked ‘Rain on Me’, an ode to friendship duet with Ariana Grande came, and it was confirmed: We’re back in big pop territory (and also BloodPop territory, as the producer from Joanne returns for every song here.)

Chromatica is a return to genre, if not exactly to form. These are catchy, club-ready songs but within the three acts of the album (split up with string-heavy segues courtesy of M83’s Morgan Kibby), the songs can blend together in both sound and intent. The first act is full of uplifting songs like the aforementioned ‘Rain on Me’ and ‘Free Woman’, the second is full of heavier songs like ‘911’ and ‘Plastic Doll’, while the third is full of songs that are, well, for the cab home or the kebab store. This structure leaves the album feeling less like a collection of great pop songs, and more like a guide to the night out; it’s calculated in a way that allows the songs to blend into each other, rather than rub up against each other.