Knightwatch

Vanessa Ippolito 

 

Pokerface. Bad Romance. Paparazzi. Born This

Way. You may think you know Lady Gaga -the meat dress and the loud pop music- but after her newest album Joanne, your view on Gaga will completely change.

 

She ditched the dance club for the dive bar in this latest addition to her catalogue of music. Named after her father’s late sister, Joanne has a soft-rock/country-pop feel to it. The hat on the album cover, along with the sound of the music, is ‘70s inspired.

 

The songs are a mixture of upbeat and calming - the perfect combination. While writing the music for the album, Gaga pictured a girl sitting in the middle of a rural landscape. Her intention was for each song to have its own connection to an aspect of humanity.

 

My opinion on Lady Gaga’s new album is completely positive. I was so used to her pop sound and was curious, when I heard about an album release, as to what she’d come up with this time. How much can you really do with pop?

 

I wasn’t much of a fan of her last album, Art Pop, but I knew the moment I heard Joanne that I was hooked. I enjoy her wide vocal range and the amount of harmonizing that soothes me out of a bad mood which really shines through in songs like Million Reasons.

 

This album really covers things we all felt during the past year, almost like a musical time capsule. Her song Angel Down, really reminds me of the recent events that unfolded with the US presidential election. “Where are your leaders?” she sings.

 

Overall, Lady Gaga’s musical genius captured everything I wanted to say about my feelings, but couldn’t get out, in just one album.