Lady GaGa - Born This Way

Okay, I'll hold my paws up: I'm a fan.

Don't you just hate it when an album comes along and you have so very little to say about the artist? Hehe. It's funny because she's everywhere. Some will say that she peaked with The Fame Monster, 2009's EP that saw 8 additional tracks to her standard hit-and-miss debut The Fame - and with tracks such as Alejandro, Telephone, Speechless and Bad Romance there's certainly a lot of weight to that theory. Those fears only snowballed upon the release of 'Born This Way', 2011's be-proud anthem that polarised the world thanks to a certain Madonna similarity and change of scenery to a much dancier, political outlet.

But she's slowly clawed her way back into respectability - Judas and The Edge of Glory proving she can still dish out great pop songs with edge, without the necessity for shock tactics (though Judas inevitably pissed off a few of those who live to be pissed off). Alas, enough of the back story - onto the album. We open with 'Marry the Night', an instantly 80s pop tune with an intro in the same vein as Irene Cara's 'What A Feeling' - indeed suddenly collapsing on itself with a disco instrumentation. GaGa promises to "hold my whiskey up high / kiss the bartender twice" and other such carefree frivolities with a riotous party anthem - "ma-ma ma-marry!" reinstating her love of stuttered vocal hooks. The disco then suddenly ends with a cold (and oddly unemotional for the subject matter) tone announcing "It doesn't matter if you love him, or capital H-i-m." Yep, 'Born This Way' is a pride anthem, and after the initial horror it does appear to be rather catchy - but those who follow my blog will be familiar with my many issues with the track. Even ignoring the strong resemblance to Madonna's 'Express Yourself', it's such a condescending and cheap tactic to try and endear yourself to niche fanbases - indeed it's a little bit rich for a rich white popstar to talk about how easy it is being you.


That out of the way, 'Government Hooker' does admirably to restore faith. Opening with dramatic vocals it suddenly veers down an electronic path where GaGa offers a full menu of sexual choices: "I could be girl (unless you want to be man) / I could be sex (unless you want to hold hands)". It's likely that the John F. Kennedy lyric will attract notoriety but for me it makes so little sense that it just sounds like a random trolling attempt (though I assume much could be said of his rumoured exploits) - indeed the attention here should be paid to the sleazy nature of the track itself. Things turn even darker in 'Judas', the record's second single, which thrusts GaGa into tormented lover mode over a phenomenally brash instrumentation. Hooks are laid out aplenty (there's the screamed "AAAH!"s, there's "Juda-Juda-ah", there's a Bad Romance mimickry in the chorus) and we could also finally celebrate the return to a short, no-nonsense, pop video.

Spanish is dabbled in in 'Americano' with perhaps one of the album's most unique hooks - her voice suddenly turned into a dramatic wail throughout - with lyrics telling "I will fight for / I have fought for / how I love you" and other such desperations. The beat is persistent, the latin influences abundant, and it's slightly reminiscent of 'Alejandro' with its repeated lyricism and undying romance. "Don't you try to catch me / I'm living on the edge of the law" she boldly announces before 'Hair' uses the metaphor of various hairstyles for freedom and independence: this is very much an "I am what I am" album indeeed. The track introduces a saxophone to her signature electropop sound giving it a stronger 80s throwback; the piano tune in the chorus being a particular highlight. One of the record's most unusual listening experiences, 'Scheiße' announces "I don't speak German but I can if you like" before a monotonous German refrain is coolly spoken over a dirty, early 90s-rave beat.

The first weak track for me, 'Bloody Mary' is like a comedown in the midst of a high you really don't want to abandon. The beat is slow and uneventful, giving centre stage to the inevitably controversial religious lyrics - placing her in Mary Magdalene's shoes - and to its credit some of them are clever and catchy ("We are not just art to Michelangelo to carve / He can't rewrite the aggro of my furied heart") - but it's all let down by a real bogus instrumental. 'Bad Kids' then sounds like a Beastie Boys track with its distant angry opening - but it quickly gives way to a saccharine disco beat that again never really peaks or explores. There's no pause to breathe before 'Highway Unicorn (Road to Love)', an endearingly romantic track with about 20 different synth sections that for me don't really seem to merge into one another seamlessly, but the energy and message behind the track sort of conceals that.

You wouldn't really have expected her to be one, and 'Heavy Metal Lover' doesn't particularly show any evidence of it. Reviving the synths from lead single 'Born This Way', she announces various romantic, sometimes sexual, pleas ("I want your whiskey mouth all over my blonde self" I initially misheard for "blonde south") over a pretty nice wind-down to all of the disco-Springsteen segments of the album. Because 'Electric Chapel' heralds in a new sound, with slightly gothic tones courtesy of a heavy guitar riff, that's somewhat more conventionally pop than the majority of the album. There are inevitable church organs and synths given the title, but it's said riff that makes the strongest impression (accompanied by GaGa's "doo doo doo" vocal hooks).


On 'Yoü and I' we see a guest appearance from Brian May on guitar - something she recently triumphantly announced to a UK crowd on Radio 1's Big Weekend - and it's classic pop. Vocally she's on fire here, adopting country twangs and her signature theatrical cries, and all of this perfectly backed by a (surely) future drivetime rock anthem. Which brings us to 'Edge of Glory', the third single and one of her best, with equally breathless "I'll love you until I die" proclamations and a personal note (purportedly dedicated to her grandfather) that for me really encapsulates the whole album.

Because whilst there are notable dips in the energy and some misguided attempts at controversy or wordplay, all previous grudges against her are somewhat irrelevant when faced with a track as perfectly crafted as the closer. She might speak some utter shit sometimes but that's rather what being human is about - 'Born This Way' is the perfect testament (omg, New testament!!) to the vitality of life. Of course, this is all theatrical and melodramatic but for once it's refreshing to see a popstar aspiring to more than your average "baby you're a firework" bubblegum pop.

Rating: 6.5/10
Highlights: Yoü and I, Edge of Glory, Americano, Judas, Scheiße, Marry the Night
Avoid: Bad Kids, Bloody Mary
Artwork Watch: appalling. Just...what.