By shelz.

Calling Lady Gaga an edgy artist would be quite the understatement.  She is a well thought out study in the outlandish, from her aesthetic, to her performance all the way down to the rampant rumors about what’s really residing in her nether regions.  However, her freshman release The Fame seemed a bit surface for an artist who represents all that is profoundly strange in the world of pop celebrity. Disco sticks and paparazzi abounded within slick bass heavy synth production that had one and only one effect really, to get your drunken, glow stick waving ass on the dance floor.   

However with her new EP The Fame Monster, an 8 track release you can either buy separate from or as an addendum to the re-release of The Fame, Gaga takes a dip into the murky side of that same world she spoke of on her debut.  Some of the lyrics are dark and cryptic, others are soft and emotional. The production is more diverse as she hops around from Euro sounding electro-pop party stuff to 70’s inspired rock balladry. It’s not for those who don’t have uber club sonic sensibilities.  However, if you are a fan of the genre or Gaga, you will love this release.

Even though Lady Gaga is heralded as something new and special on the pop front, the overall song construction does give credence to the cliché everything old is new again. “Alejandro” is the bastard offspring of “La Isla Bonita” and “I Saw the Sign” with Ace of Bass having the stronger genes. The “rap” (and yes I use that term loosely) on “Dance in the Dark” is reminiscent of Madonna’s “Vogue” while the intro will remind Eurythmics fans of “Who’s That Girl?”and listening to the intro of the Teddy Riley produced “Teeth” will have you waiting on Black Street to lay down a couple of lines.  However, there is enough difference in most of the songs (except “Alejandro”) to give credit to Gaga et all for putting a personal imprint on rehashed sounds.

The song construction and production are frenetic times ten.  There are what sound like synth scales, weird special affects, breaks and total changes and ebb and flow that would throw the average song into a tizzy and the listener into a state of confusion.  However, the crew keeps the sounds cohesive enough that it makes sense. A perfect example would be the Rodney Jerkin produced “Telephone,” an ode to bugaboos who want to live the party life vicariously through you via phone call after phone call when you’re out in the street shaking your tail feather. The pace goes from slow to fast to mid tempo as the voice effects, breaks and snyth rolls come in unexpected spurts.   

The lyrics on this album can be a bit confusing at times.  However, obscuring meaning always opens up songs to listener interpretation so I guess they can mean what ever you want them to.  “Monster” seems to be a song about a one night stand with some dude who is a beast between the sheets, but it could also be about a serial killing cannibal. The topics that are easily defined run the spectrum from emotionally abused women to the joys of uno-eroticism and the thought behind and delivery of “Speechless” really is beautiful.  It’s a dedication to Gaga’s father written through the eyes of her mother.  Touching.

Given “So Happy I Could Die” has a really boring track in my opinion, but in Gaga’s defense, it totally matches the really boring hook on top that’s repeated a few too many times for this reviewers taste.  Also, the first song, “Bad Romance” seems to last forever.  It’s not a bad song, but simply not good enough to last that long.  However, structurally, those are my only complaints.

The bottom line is you know if Lady Gaga is for you or not.  If you changed the radio station in disdain every time you heard “Poker Face,” you wont like this either.  But if you enjoyed The Fame, you will find Gaga’s walk on the dark side even more amazing. According to her the songs are written from a very personal examination of the down side of her notoriety. If she keeps producing albums like this, specifically focused on the wants and needs of her core audience, she will have that fame for a very long time.

  3.25 out of 5

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