We wouldn’t particularly class ourselves as Lady Gaga fans – it took us a long while to buy either of her albums, and we wouldn’t want to go and see her on tour – and we do think the amount of controversy Gaga constantly douses herself in borders on the ridiculous side of attention seeking. However two things are sure: the lady understands how pop music works, and she always delivers.
‘Applause’ delivers. We like that Gaga experiments with different sounds and styles, never content to replicate the exact same style she has previously produced, as other artists do. At the minute, Gaga seems to be feeling lo-fi electro, and so we are given a mesmerising, pulsing and throbbing electro beat in way of propelling the song along. It’s a song that works best whilst listened to very loudly, with the bass turned high, as the tempo of the beat is very much one of the most attractive elements of the song. The processing of Gaga’s vocals in the chorus, for example, sound a little bit off – a little over-produced for Gaga.
Lyrically, the song is just basically about how much Gaga needs to be adored, and thus falls a bit hollow. The video meanwhile has lots of flashing lights and an impressive dance routine. We like.
Overall, we are delighted that Gaga is back, and hopefully her slightly left-field approach to making music will influence the more mainstream pop artists to try something different. We’re definitely sticking ‘Applause’ on our party playlist, and giving it the Popfools seal of approval. Rating: 9/10
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