So at the end of May Lady Gaga released her 6th Album entitled Chromatica. When I first saw her tweet about the album with the cover art I knew it was going to be fantasy-based. The way she said "you can officially join me on Chromatica 29th May" made me think it was going to be set on a different planet and maybe even have a different feel to her other albums.
I'm not a stan of Gaga, I loved The Fame and Artpop, the others not so much. Plus after Joanne (which I really disliked) I really wanted another pop album from Gaga really, the country and jazz that she had released just wasn't my taste, Cheek to Cheek was a good album though for Jazz. She released Stupid Love and after that, I wasn't expecting much... but I'll go into more detail about that in a moment.
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| Lady Gaga - Chromatica |
Ok, so the cover art itself I personally think is her best cover art yet, it reminded me of machinery and like Gaga was a robot, just lying there in the midst of everything. The use of circles I liked too, not much I can say other than that, I like circles ok?. I may have got this wrong but this is just how I interpreted it. I love the colours shes used for the cover, mainly black and pink and they go really well together, and also matched a collab she had on the album (BLACKPINK). I thought the cover at first was going to be the green and pink she had been plugging for a while which I didn't like so I'm glad the album cover turned out to be this instead.
Chromatica I & Alice
The album first opens with an instrumental called 'Chromatica I', it immediately confirmed that it was set on another planet for me because this was like the transportation to a new world. It reminded me of the theatre and the music they play just as the curtains are opening, the strings really bought that to my mind. It perfectly ran into the 2nd track which is titled 'Alice'. This is where the albums funky club sound first begins. I've always been a sucker for drops, beats and EDM so this album was perfect for me and it's the Gaga album I've been waiting for since Artpop. I do love the message of this song though, if you really listen to the lyrics, she's saying she isn't Alice but shes looking for wonderland. That is so true, everyone is looking for their own version of wonderland, and one person's idea of wonderland might be different from another person. We're all different and Gaga admits that she hasn't found hers yet, and I found peace with this knowing that it's ok to not have your life 'fully together' yet, as everyone is looking for their own version of wonderland.
Stupid Love
The third track on the album is called 'Stupid Love'. Now I'll be honest I really didn't like this song. It was released as a single ahead of the album so it was the first song I actually heard from Chromatica and I didn't like it at all, and coming off of Joanne I wasn't expecting greatness from this album after hearing this. I still skip it now, I just don't like the sound of this song.
Rain on Me
The second single from this album is called 'Rain on Me'. In contrast to the previous track, I loved this one and it was this song that got me excited for Gaga's new album. I do love Ariana and her vocals are so good. It was also nice to see 2 females supporting each other in the industry as very often females are made to be seen as competitors, so I'm glad that Ariana and Gaga shut that down and came together to create this banger! it has a very clubby sound but the meaning is deep. You're always going to have bad times but at least your alive and bring it on! that's the type of message I got from this song. Ariana's soft vocals fit very well with Gaga's dominant vocals too.
Free Woman
The next song is called free woman, and apart from Chromatica and Alice, this is the first we are hearing from the actual album because the previous two were both singles and I heard them before the album's release. The clubby sound got toned down with free woman and it mainly focuses' on being single. You're still something even if you don't have a man and this is so true. It's a common thing to be seen as 'lesser' if you don't have a man. Especially where I live, it's always drummed into you that you meet someone fall in love, get married, have kids, die. Kind of like that's all life is about but when your life doesn't fall into that, people get confused, start asking questions and they start looking down on you because your life (to them) hasn't gone anywhere. I appreciate the message of this song, I really do. You don't need a man to be something.
Fun tonight
Fun tonight was a tough track for me to understand. The first way I thought was that Gaga maybe was in a relationship and it's all great in the honeymoon phase but after a while, the cracks start to show (as they always do) and she's started to see problems and she's now not having fun, it's a chore to now be in this relationship and keep up with this. That was the first way I took it, the second way I took it was that she was maybe feeling some type of depression and her friends or the people around her were trying to make her feel better by doing things that Gaga likes to do; but because Gaga is suffering she's not having fun, even though she's doing things she likes to do. That is a symptom of depression and unless you've been there it's hard to comprehend not having fun doing something you love to do, but it's real and millions of people feel like this every day.
Chromatica II & 911
This starts the next phase of the album. The transition between these two songs is so good! You have to hear it to really feel it but it really is a great transition. This is where the club feel and sound really does kick in, 911 is a great song and is in my top 3. even when you listen to the lyrics she's speaking some facts too. The chorus says 'my biggest enemy is me' and that is so true to every human. Perfectionism is a hard thing to get out of and I've felt that before. My previous blog post about gratitude fits into this because my biggest enemy is me. Your biggest enemy is you, and even though you might not think that it's true, you are constantly against yourself. It takes a strong mindset to overcome this but it is possible.
Plastic Doll
Plastic doll fits into free woman in a way for me. I took it as though she's perhaps dating people and all these guys just want a bit of fun, 'no strings attached' is a common phrase. Sometimes you don't want that, you want to commit, you want to be with someone, loved, nurtured, cared about. It's a difficult thing to overcome because a lot of guys just want to play the field. The plastic doll is how you might change yourself to fit what a specific guy likes and wants, the way she says 'am I your type?' made me think this, but then he just wants to play, and you just end up hurt. The best thing to do is to just be yourself and I'm sure the right guy will come along (you watch me become lonely teddy bear lady now I've typed this). I could've got the meaning of this completely wrong but that's the way I heard it.
Sour Candy
Sour Candy is. the. song!
This is my favourite from this album I'm a sucker for the deep house sound. I didn't know who BLACKPINK were at all but I now think they were perfect for this. I absolutely love it. I also like the message, how sour candy can turn sweet after a while, so at first, Gaga might seem sour (because of the hurt she's gone through) but she will turn sweet if you stick around.
Enigma
I loved the vocals on this. Her voice fits this song so well, especially in the last chorus where she really emphasised some of the words. This also fits in with the 'dating phase of a relationship' theme she has. She's saying she wants more than just FWB, she wants to be your enigma, your puzzle. She wants to be yours and even though she may have some walls up (because of the trauma she has) you can figure her out if you want to and she will be yours.
Replay
This also fits into the trauma theme that this album has. I think everyone can relate to this in some way. You may have said something or done something embarrassing or just stupid and you wish you could take it back. Then at random times, your brain will just replay that moment (usually just as you're going to sleep - thanks brain) and you feel the cringe come over you. I've been there, I think every person has been there at some point. I think the message Gaga was trying to put across was way more traumatic things, her brain was reminding her of past hurt over and over again but I've related it to my embarrassing moments.
Chromatica III & Sine from Above
This begins the final part of the album. The 'Chromatica III' has a rain sound effect that my brain immediately went to, it was very soothing. This transitions into 'Sine from above' which feature Elton John, I was actually surprised when I saw his name on this. I didn't think he'd ever collab with Gaga but their voices together are actually amazing! The ending took me by surprise but it is a very good song!
1,000 Doves
This song has a nice meaning to it, and it fits so perfectly with Sine from Above. it has a theme of healing, Gaga is picking herself up and she just needs a little push and she'll fly like '1,000 doves'. Sometimes all as someone needs is a little encouragement especially when they are over the hurt and now they're on the road to recovery.
Babylon
The last track on the album, Babylon is great because it fits so well. She had a tough traumatic time, she had a little rebellious phase and then she did her healing and moved on. Even after you've done all that, people still talk, and Gaga knows this. That's why this song is at the end and that's why it fits so well. Gaga is basically saying you keep 'babbling on' ... I've moved on. Gossip is not a nice thing, especially when it's malicious and has an intent to hurt someone or their reputation. It's a vicious, venomous thing but people who talk always have listeners, but they can babble on!
The album as a whole fits so well and they all have a similar sound, you can tell that these songs are from the same album. The one thing I look from Chromatica is that it's split into 3 sections.
Section 1 starts from Chromatica I and ends at Fun Tonight. This section is very much filled with pain and not being able to perhaps put things together fully but you're trying your best. Alice shows that she's looking for something else, Fun tonight shows that she's no longer enjoying her life as it is right now and that even fits in with 'free woman' where she's perhaps toying with the idea of being alone. Rain on me shows that she's willing to go through the tough times to get to better days... don't ask how stupid love fits in with this, no idea!
Section 2 then begins from Chromatica II and ends at Replay. This is what I like to call the 'rebellious' section. It's very here, there and everywhere (in a good way) Replay shows that her brain was constantly replaying bad, embarrassing or traumatic moments from her life then 911 has the realisation that she was her biggest enemy because it's her brain that was replaying these things. Whilst plastic doll, sour candy, and enigma mainly focus on trying to find yourself again and maybe even trying to find a relationship after all this hurt (previous section). Section 2 also has a feeling of being broken, after you've endured some type of hurt you can feel like you're broken and you're never going to get over it.
Section 3, the final section starts from Chromatica III and ends at Babylon, which is the last song. This section is mainly about healing. You've had the hurt and the trauma, you've had your rebellious phase where you've tried to let your hair down and live life on your terms and maybe even try to go a bit crazy, but now you're finally healing. You're coming to terms with what happened and you're finally letting it go and moving on to the next chapter of your life.
Chromatica is a story that needs to be listened from start to finish to really feel the full effect but I absolutely loved it! I wasn't expecting much from this album but I personally think it's her best album to date. It's funky, it's electronic, it's danceable, it's cryable, it's meaningful... it's Gaga shes back!
Let me know in the comments below what you thought about Chromatica? do you love it or hate it? if you haven't heard it yet, give it a listen! Welcome to CHROMATICA
Thank you Guys, I'll see you next time!
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