MUSIC REVIEW: LADY GAGA - 'BORN THIS WAY'

Pop's Most Talked-About Artist Sounds Off with Sticky Sugar, Barbs & Hooks

By: Andrew Shaw

May 23, 2011

(Interscope) Born This Way, Lady Gaga's second full-length album, was inevitably due to draw controversy. To say that you're a fan of Gaga is a statement that encompasses more than music, more than videos and frocks made out of raw meat. For an artist who excels in pushing buttons, extravagant displays, and blending content with form, it seems the one element missing from the cocktail that is Gaga is subtlety. The crowd, in fact the world, that Gaga speaks to and on behalf of doesn't really care for nuance. Whether it's boney protrusions from her face, manufacturing a perfume that smells of 'blood and semen,' or a non-apologetic aggressive sexuality that exaggerates pouts and pelvis beyond any cheeky material girl, critics respond and fans debate.

This time, die-hards were a little shaken on first spin of the “Born This Way” single that sounds more than a little similar to Madonna's “Express Yourself.” Other folk were angered that the artist appeared to be hijacking their sexuality as a means of self-promotion. What Gaga sought to explore and defend was being understood as a cheap association that served only her will and not their cause. Whatever is said about Gaga, there is always something being said about Gaga.

Lady Gaga's blend of surrealism and twists of expectation will always trouble some members of her audience. When High Art becomes popular, it is frowned upon as becoming crass and commercial. When Pop Art pushes the envelope and reaches above the recognized limits of genre, it's considered pretentious or 'try-hard.' Salvador Dali once made a comment about being not just the greatest artist alive, but also an even better marketeer. He also said: “Happy is he who causes a scandal.” Gaga, undeniably, is among world leaders in the place where art, current affairs, scandal, and pop music collide. In terms of artistic expression, she is every bit as confrontational as other strong, more obscure but less-scorned female performers like Anna Calvi, Glasser, or M.I.A. In terms of working the system, she excels, and that's why she has become such a potent force -- a dirty bomb as opposed to a finely tuned pinpoint strike. Everyone, whether they know it or not, will be impacted in one way or another. There will be fall-out.

Underpinning everything, strip her down and Lady Gaga is music. Great music. Born This Way takes a bunch of songs and fills them up with vocal treatments, multi-layered synthed instrumentation, and beats that pound the living daylights out of anything in their path. Aside from the production values and musical overdubs, much of what's on display is essentially traditional in arrangement. Gaga and her team of world-class producers have taken highly accessible and accommodating phrases and hooked them right up into the edgier elements of Pop. There's a sweetness here, but also barbs; there are razor blades in the ice-cream.

“Hair” sounds like something from the 1980s tradition of needing to dress everything with sentimentality, electric drum pads, and choruses of “Hey, Hey, Oh Hey – Yay-Yeah!” It's more fun than confrontation. “Marry the Night” opens proceedings and sounds like a hair-gel ballad before it fills the floor with folk who don't like to have fun when dancing for fear of ruining their look. We'll clap hands and raise our hands, but we're not going to get ourselves too sweaty.

Other areas, where taboos are teased and naughtier lyrics self-consciously rub things up the wrong way, prove to be the most substantial tracks. “Government Hooker,” with a quasi-operatic intro and a set of words that spit like lime juice in a gravel graze, takes the regular teasing of the girlie pop star and reveals an abrasive wonder. “I could be anything / I could be everything / I could be Mom / Unless you want to be Dad.” Everything is available, everything is promised. However, as adults, we should be fully aware that most things in life carry a substantial cost. It's Gaga's astute vision that has “Judas” following “Government Hooker” in the running order. Musically, progress becomes less caustic, and the song is by far more radio friendly. Lyrically, we're still discussing faith, corruption of sensitivities, and the cost of a kiss.

Born This Way will endure, whether in this original form or as its inevitable succession of cover versions, remixes, and dance floor mash-ups. Sonically, it's an assault that uses every weapon from cheeky sling-shots to low-grade nuclear detonations. Lyrically, Lady Gaga either forces her issues or drags your concerns to the forefront. In an age where Pop artists can sometimes be blurred to the point of an indistinct subculture, here's a distinctively strong artist that approaches all cultural concerns with unrestrained full-frontal aggression. Love her or hate her, Gaga has grown to be a vital aspect of modern Pop Culture, and today she is arguably the best in the world at what she does. Compare her to others in the scene and try to weigh creative content, controversy, and commercial success. Try and you will be forced to agree: The Lady is unsurpassed.

Standout Tracks: “Government Hooker,” “Judas,” “Americano”

For Fans Of: Rihanna, Katy Perry, M.I.A., Glasser, Madonna