Lady Gaga's 'Joanne' marks radical shift in musical style

Lady Gaga’s “Joanne” is just as new as her new look and is less unconventional and futuristic than her earlier work. She ditches the auto-tune in favor for punchy vocals and leaves the club hits for strong pop anthems and complex melodies. In other words, “Joanne” is a simple, timeless work. This means the album lacks a song that is suitable for a live night on the dance floor; however, gains are made elsewhere as it works to satisfy a more sophisticated audience. Gaga is still fun, but she proves that she has more to offer the soundscape.

Songs like “Angel Down” and “Hey Girl”—featuring the flirty voice of Florence Welch—make the social statements of which hard-core Gaga fans are already familiar, but were often missing from most of her music. “Hey Girl” is a celebration of friendship and an urge for women’s solidarity. “Angel Down” addresses the darkness of deadly racism pervading the streets, as Gaga passionately belts out her frustrations about this reality in dedication to Trayvon Martin. She even sprinkles a bit of social commentary in “Come to Mama,” a show tunes-like number that addresses prejudice in all its forms.

Although Gaga confronts serious topics with this new album, one still finds that “Joanne” remains light and pleasurable among many levels of nuance. She still wants to dance, which is evident with “Dancin’ in Circles,” an upbeat tune with an international sound. Throughout the album, Gaga’s signature feisty sound, accompanied by country, folk and 1980s rock influences, maintains the listener’s interest. In “Joanne,” the voice of Cyndi Lauper and even Bette Midler lives on. Their legacies have an obvious impact on this album.

Despite its many strengths, “Joanne” will suffer with an audience who is only acquainted with her music because of its popularity in dance clubs. Unlike her loyal Little Monsters, Gaga occupies a specific musical space to most of the world. The radical change of musical style exhibited in “Joanne” may not be received well by mainstream audiences.

Nevertheless, the risk is worth taking as Lady Gaga’s “Joanne” has the potential to successfully propel the artist into an elite class of musical artists whose music transcends time. “Joanne” is the difference between existing as a fleeting pop artist with an interesting gimmick, to a sophisticated contributor to the musical soundscape.