Songs alone are not enough to create a pop icon in this post-album market. The genius of Lady Gaga is in the calculated, symbiotic relationship between her music and her persona.
But one prong of Gaga cannot be fully enjoyed on its own. "The Fame Monster," her sophomore effort, suffers in part for that reason. With this album, clocking in at only 34 minutes and consisting of just eight tracks, Gaga is trying less to create a cohesive whole and more to present a collection of potential future singles. The success of this business plan remains to be seen — but from here, it's not looking entirely promising.
As Britney Spears 2.0, Lady Gaga makes some questionable choices, especially considering her already-stunning success: obtuse and abstract music videos, frank lyrics, unpredictable performances and a truly avant-garde fashion sense. But Lady Gaga isn't trying to be merely this year's pop tart. The former student of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts has never tried to conceal the fact that she is, first and foremost, a performance artist.
Gaga, née Stefani Germanotta, cultivated her ear for the mainstream pop template as a behind-the-scenes songwriter for several artists, including Spears herself. Last year saw the release of Gaga's debut album, "The Fame." Since then, she has consistently saturated the radio waves. Her infectious lead single, "Just Dance," was followed by "Poker Face," which was without question one of the biggest songs of this year.
Gaga's music is just as meticulously designed as her on-stage persona. Beneath the glitzy production, she is a piano chanteuse who has chosen to use her powers for disco-pop. Her hits — including "Bad Romance," the lead single from "The Fame Monster" — present a how-to guide for making pop hits. All of her songs feature simple pop melodies, repetitive lyrics and sing-along phrases that create natural earworms. Gaga's more acoustic performances on "Saturday Night Live" and in various YouTube.com clips prove that, while the songs sometimes work better as piano ballads than as disco tunes, she knows instinctively what makes a hit, and she pursues it.
"The Fame Monster" begins, predictably, with "Bad Romance," which fits in perfectly with the rest of Gaga's oeuvre. The song seems to be directly opposed to another track ruling the airwaves now — in particular, Britney's "3" (2009) ("Bad Romance" is heavily orchestrated, whereas "3" is sparse, and while "Bad Romance" is dramatically melodic, "3" is hindered by Britney's vocal limitations). Like the earlier "Poker Face," "Bad Romance" benefits mightily from repeated, fevered listening; it's better after it's burrowed into the brain.
For the most part, the rest of "The Fame Monster" consists of more mid-tempo, less explosive dance tracks. At its worst, the album evokes dated, sub-Gaga radio hits. "So Happy I Could Die" sounds like Gaga's reinterpretation of Natasha Bedingfield's bland "Pocketful of Sunshine" (2008). The track "Monster" is like an '80s dance song produced by the poor man's Timbaland.
The album's weakest track is "Telephone," featuring Beyoncé. With its flat melody and flashy production, it's a more straightforward dance record than the rest of the songs on "The Fame Monster." It seems perhaps better suited for Rihanna than for these two divas. Beyoncé's vocals sound awkwardly mismatched with Gaga's melodically limited contribution, and no one seems to be having any fun.
In the middle of all the synthesizers and drum machines is one standout track: "Speechless," a Queen-influenced, piano-fueled power ballad. The orchestration is deliberately over-the-top, with strings and bombastic drum fills. Gaga's vocals are uncharacteristically bare, though. She's not a virtuoso vocalist, but her belting is better than her disco hits let on. Finally, Gaga is revealing what she can really do, rather than what she merely chooses to do.
Hopefully, "Speechless" is a sign that Lady Gaga will continue to develop both her music and her artistic experiment of creating the perfect pop star. She gives every indication that she has room to grow, mature and evolve, even if this album doesn't get her particularly far.
