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ARTPOP - Gaga's Best Yet?

It's no secret that Gaga's latest effort, ARTPOP, has recieved mixed to positive reviews at best. Throughout the lead-up to the album's release, Gaga was bashed by critics who predicted the album would be a train-wreck. These predictions were mainly based on the fact that lead single "Applause" did not match the success (commercially, at least) of rival Katy Perry's "Roar". This soon sparked competition between the two pop stars' third studio albums, Perry's Prism and Gaga's ARTPOP. Upon the release of ARTPOP, many critics were soon to criticise the album, although there were many that were kinder towards Gaga and the album. Personally, I think the album is fantastic, and I'll go through it track-by-track just to express how I feel about each one. I won't be biased, and although I am a big fan of Gaga I don't consider myself to be one of her 'monsters', so I will talk about the negatives of the album too.

"Aura" (9/10)

"Do you wanna see the girl who lives behind the aura?"

"Aura", originally known as "Burqa" when it was released in demo-form earlier this year, is ARTPOP's glorious opener. The song begins with a middle-eastern sounding guitar and Gaga's distorted vocals. As the song builds Gaga literally laughs to the rhythm as she chants "Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha" as the music builds and builds before the electro-beats bring the house down and the song really begins. During the verse Gaga sings about wearing the burqa and what it represents: "I'm not a wandering slave, I am a woman of choice. My veil is protection for the gorgeousness of my face". Things turn from sweet to sexy when she moans "In the bedroom the size of him's more than enough..." The song is interrupted from it's electro-dance nature to the enchanting, ethereal chorus: "Do you wanna see me naked, love? Do you wanna peek underneath the cover?" Gaga entices her lover to remove the burqa. I was captivated when I first heard this song, even moreso when it was used to promote Robert Rodriguez's Hispanic-action-bloodbath move Machete Kills (which also features Gaga in her debut acting role) in a mindblowing lyric video created by the director himself. The song finishes perfectly with a robotic-sounding Gaga chanting "ART-POP".

"Venus" (8/10)

"Don't you know my ass is famous?"

From the perfect chanting of the album's title at the end of the first track, the intro of "Venus" fits astonishingly as the real get-go of the album. The dance track opens with Gaga singing about space and universe: "Rocket number 9 take off to the planet", before revealing where her ARTPOP-era costume originates "Seashell bikini, garden panty". The song is notable for it's change in sound within each verse, but it's the main chorus that truly shines in it's radio-friendly glory. The bridge takes us on a journey through the solar system as Gaga literally sings "Neptune. Go. Now serve, Pluto. Saturn. Jupiter. Mercury. Venus. Uranus. Don't you know my ass is famous? Mars." Initial reactions to this were very mixed indeed... she almost becomes a little 'too' Gaga, which is the best way to describe this song. If you don't like Gaga and you don't like weird, then this song won't do anything for you. After all, it's the first track to be produced by the pop star herself.

"G.U.Y." (9/10)

"I'll lay down face up this time."

The third track opens with an intergalactic speech, speaking about the "God of sexual desire" before breaking into an impressive electro-vocal intro before crashing into the sexy-obsessed tune: "I wanna be the girl under you". What is often referred to as a standout track on the album, G.U.Y. does anything but disappoint with it's electro-crazy beats and the suggestive lyrics. Gaga also takes the time to ask her fans to do her a little favour "Love me, love me, please retweet". The chorus is very interesting with it's interpretation of the word 'guy' as Gaga sings "I wanna be that guy (G.U.Y.)" which stands for 'Girl Under You'. The song has 'Gaga' written all over it and definitely shows of her abilities as a songwriter.

"Sexxx Dreams" (9.5/10)

"When I lay in bed I touch myself and think of you."

Only word can be used to describe this song: intoxicating. The synth-heavy tune opens with an intriguing verse about an attraction between Gaga and her lover, who is later to be revealed as... a woman!? "Heard your boyfriend was away this weekend, wanna meet at my place?" Gaga clearly has one think on her mind when she confesses "When I lay in bed I touch myself and think of you". Corny as it sounds, it's unbelievable how perfectly it fits. The chorus breaks out with another lyrically-sexy dance tune "Last night, you were in my sex dreams". The song also introduces a glimpse into the real Gaga as the music stops and Gaga takes centre stage with a little speech: "I can't believe I'm telling you this, but I've had a couple of drinks and... oh my God" as she trails off with laughter before the music crashes back in and the chorus returns.

"Jewels N' Drugs (feat. T.I., Too $hort & Twista)" (9/10)

"I think you should shut up and sit down."

This absolute monster of a track features not one, not two, but three rappers. T.I. takes the lead with a bass-heavy intro before introducing Gaga who crashes in with a beautifully simple chorus before having a verse of her own. The song is almost haunting with it's synth, bass, beat and almost out-of-key vocals that fit perfectly with the tone. After a verse from Too $hort and a second chorus by Gaga, Twista bursts in with a horribly-fast rap that, admittedly, I have no idea what he's saying. A few words here and there I can pick up, but it's not long before Gaga comes to the rescue with a final chorus.

"MANiCURE" (9.5/10)

"Heal me, 'cause I'm addicted to love."

"MANiCURE" is a definite standout track from the album with it's high-energy, crowd-friendly chants and Gaga's incredible vocals. My love for the song sparked when Gaga debuted the track at the iTunes Festival earlier this year. The energy of the song never drops and is an easy one to jump around to, a perfect song for the live shows. Unfortunately though, the song lost 0.5 points for the lack of the guitar solo in the outro. This, to me, was fantastic at the iTunes Festival and, although the guitar is still present it has been heavily muted and is now merely a background noise. A shame, but a fantastic song nonetheless.

"Do What U Wan (feat. R. Kelly)" (10/10)

"You can't stop my voice, 'cause you don't own my life."

This unstoppable second single is damn-right perfect right from the offset. The electronic-based dance track was written in an attempt to fight the critics that constantly bash Gaga. Before the track's release, Gaga tweeted the different headlines regarding her life over the past few years, such as her weight-gain during the 'Born This Way Ball', her battles with Madonna, Christians and Katy Perry. The song is a message for critics, explaining that Gaga doesn't care what they say, and they can do what they with her body. Gaga's vocals are amazing, being compared to the legendary Christina Aguilera by many critics, and they truly shine during the outro when she creams "Do what you want my, what you want with my body. Do what you want with my, what you want with my body, world."

"Artpop" (9/10)

"My Artpop could mean anything..."

Another song that I became infatuated with at the iTunes Festival. This simple, vocally-tamed tune sings about the wonder that is "ARTPOP", a concept I admit I don't fully instead. The chorus sings: "We could, we could belong together", which may not explain what the album is about... but maybe that isn't the intention. Gaga has said she is trying to fuse art and pop culture, and I believe this lies in the music moreso than the lyrics, and the music of this track is astonishing. This is the perfect song to close our eyes to and sway with the beat, and that's exactly what I love to do. The song ends beautifully with gaga speaking the words: "Free my mind, artpop. You make my heart stop."

"Swine" (9/10)

"You're just a pig inside a human body."

Lyrically, musically and vocally spectacular, the song sings about how everybody is a pig, as explained by Gaga at the iTunes Festival. The performance also saw Gaga strip-down to her natural self for the first ever time. The electronic-dance track has its best moment when the music cuts out and the beat increases in tempo, slowly building for something epic as Gaga crashes in with a pig's squeal, shouting the word "SWINE!". It's at this moment that the beat drops and your body is forced to move with the beat. All the awards go to the person who is able to remain still during this song! Despite it sounding awesome on the album, this song will definitely be better live, as shown by her phenomenal performance of the song at the iTunes Festival.

Donatella (7/10)

A fantastic song to throw your head around to, but it isn't good for much else. The vocals in the chorus may be impressive, but the concept and meaning of the song is lost somewhere in the delivery. Not to mention the god-awful lyrics during the second verse: "Walk down the runway, but don't puke. It's okay. You just had a salad today, boulingerie. Just ask your gay friends their advice before you get a spray tan on holiday." Despite these laughable lyrics that have lost the song a good 2 points on my super-awesome scoring system, the song is very listenable and features an intriguing chorus and bridge.

"Fashion!" (8/10)

"Looking good and feeling fine."

This track is written and co-produced by a wide array of musical artists including David Guetta and will.i.am, but despite their usual music efforts this song seems to be quite... funky. This "La Freak" and "Stayin' Alive"-esque tune will have you strutting down the sidewalk like you're a sexy beast.

"Mary Jane Holland" (10/10)

"Mary! Jane! Holland!"

An absolutely perfect track from the queen of pop herself. With it's over-the-top beats, electro-hooks and drug-addicted lyrics this song is the perfect ode to Gaga's recently-confessed addiction. The song is almost perfect for a soundtrack to something like Kick-Ass, or another action-crazy superhero movie.

"Dope" (10/10)

"I'll hate myself until I die."

Not much can be said about this song, apart from the fact that it is so mind-numbingly beautiful it makes you want to kill yourself. Originally titled "I Wanna Be With U" and performed as this at the iTunes Festival, the song has had a revamp and is now completely different form the beautiful love ballad we heard. Now, Gaga faces her demons and sings about her addiction to drugs and how her lover has become more important than them. "My heart would break without you, might not awake without you, been hurting low from living high for so long. I'm sorry and I love you, stay with me bell bottom blue, I'll keep on searching for an answer 'cause I need you more than dope." What you just read is probably the most beautiful, personal and tearful thing Gaga will ever write. And, to add to pure delight that is this song... Gaga's vocals are out of this world during that damn chorus.

"The Edge of Glory Part II" (10/10)

"I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm a gypsy, gypsy, gypsy, I'm."

Oops... did I say "The Edge of Glory"... Part 2? OOPS. Honest mistake considering this song is almost a crystal-clear reflection of the Gaga-hit. Not lyrically, and not thematically, but sonically and musically. "Gypsy", as it is formally known, is a phenomenal anthem about Gaga's life on the road and features everything you could ever dream for: bewildering Gaga-vocals, hooks here there and everywhere, crowd-friendly chants and everything else you want. "Gypsy" is a fantastic song and one that won't go ignored... maybe it's her number one for the album?

"Applause" (9/10)

"I live for the applause."

It's almost sad to hear the intro of the worldwide hit, "Applause", as you know it's the end of ARTPOP. But what a way to finish. Not much can be said about "Applause", it's a song everyone has heard and lyrically, it's a perfect ending to a fantastic album. She lives for the applause, applause applause, and my word has she got it.