Album Review: Lady Gaga - Dawn of Chromatica

Chromatica had and still has its fans. But I think some of us can agree that whilst it had its moments (shout-outs to “Replay”), there was something missing with it. Chromatica felt far more sedate than the album cover and the promo around it led you to believe it would be. I completely got why Chromatica ended up the way it did, after 2 albums which saw Lady Gaga receive backlash for being at extremes; Artpop was too Gaga and Joanne wasn’t Gaga enough. But Chromatica suffered in similar ways to both albums, in that the music wasn’t what defined them. Chromatica felt like it was defined by its branding, its features and an interlude transition that made for a good meme. Between this and that I generally find remix albums on the whole to be unessential (although there are exceptions), I had no real expectations for Dawn of Chromatica to do much of anything for changing my mind. I figured it’d be something strictly for the fans. But, fuck me sideways, does Dawn of Chromatica do the original release a serious justice. And then some.

The guest features and collaborations were one of the things which defined Chromatica, but not for the best of reasons. None of the them really worked for me, because they felt like collaborations for the sake of Bloodpop being able to say he produced a song for Ariana Grande and Blackpink, rather than creating a musical moment that made the guest features feel essential. “Rain on Me” and “Sour Candy” were good songs, but Lady Gaga didn’t matter on either of them. Both would have been better without her. And Elton John on “Sine from Above” was nothing more than Lady Gaga being able to say she did a song with Elton John, despite having many other songs over the years that he would have been better suited for.

Dawn of Chromatica is collaboration central, but at least here the caveat is that this is a remix album where Lady Gaga is giving her guest artists free reign to do what they do and take centre stage. And the biggest difference here, is that whilst the collaborators turn Lady Gaga’s songs into something that feels truer to their own respective styles, there is also a conscious effort to still make the songs feel like they fit Gaga, even if her vocals are barely present on half of these songs and they sit far back on the mixes. But the most remarkable thing about the songs on this album is that they feel far more representative of how I imagined songs on Chromatica to sound based on the visuals and the branding of the album. It’s like everybody who was brought on for this album went at their songs like they knew the original song was dusty, and put forth a take which reflected how they felt the song should have always sounded.

Chromatica seemed to forget what made Lady Gaga’s songs so good in the beginning. It was a sense of fun. It was the way she used to take a basic pop song and make it sound like something wildly different and avant garde, when at its core it was still just a basic pop song. Chromatica brought down the smoke and mirrors, and really laid bare how basic its songs were for the worst. What we ended up with was just a collection of really basic house and dance songs, of which many other artists had given us better versions of. And quite frankly, Gaga should have given us much better. Dawn of Chromatica brings back the fun, the layers and the intricacy; picking the original songs apart and reforming them into something which feels truer to what the songs should have been in the first place. Each of these collaborators seem to have a better idea of what Chromatica and a Gaga album should sound and feel like than Bloodpop ever did.

Dawn of Chromatica features a bunch of great remixes. But 3 standouts on this album for me are the LSDXOXO remix of “Alice”, the Clarence Clarity and Rina Sawayama remix of “Free Woman” and Dorian Electra’s remix of “Replay”.

I think we can all agree that “Alice” was one of the stronger cuts on Chromatica, which had the most distinct vibe and sound. So the thought of remixing it...that’s not something I’d wanna be tasked with. But then again, I’m not LDSXOXO, who completely flips the song into something different - creating a version of “Alice” that, dare I say, is better than the original. The original version of “Alice” is for the white gays. The remix is for the Black gays and queers of colour who really wanna buss down. It also feels like the version of “Alice” that Lady Gaga would have done had she gone back in time to do it during The Fame and The Monster era, which is another part of why it works so well.

Then there’s “Free Woman”. The Clarence Clarity and Rina Sawayama remix of “Free Woman” sticks pretty closely to the original, which may sound safe, but was the best choice. I don’t know how the songs were divided between everybody, but Rina doing “Free Woman” and having Clarence Clarity helm it was genius. “Free Woman” is the one song on Chromatica which sounds like it could be a Rina song, and Clarence’s additional production on the track leans all the way into that; transforming “Free Woman” into something that could easily slot into the SAWAYAMA tracklist right after “Who’s Gonna Save U Now?”. Rina and Lady Gaga also sound really good together. I don't know what Rina has been doing between now and the recording of SAWAYAMA, but her voice sounds noticeably better than it did before. Rina now sounds like she sees herself as the pop star that we've all been seeing her as.

An honorary mention has to go to the Dorian Electra remix of “Replay”. “Replay” is the best song on Chromatica. Hands down. If this isn’t your favourite song on the album, then you are just wrong. So I came into this remix ready to not like it, only to find myself struggle duck-walking 3 minutes into it. Dorian's metal rock verse shouldn't work here, but it really does. It feels like the kind of thing Lady Gaga would have gone for back in the days of Born This Way, and it'll work so well if Lady Gaga ever performs the remix live.

“Replay” stood out on Chromatica, because it was disco as fuck in a sea of house or pop. Dorian Electra does something really clever with their remix, which is creating a version of the song for those who liked the house vibes of the original versions of “Alice” and “Sour Candy” and felt that “Replay” interrupted that. As per LSDXOXO’s remix of “Alice”, Dorian’s remix of “Replay” will cater to a group of gays the original version did not. The original version of “Replay” is for the Diana Ross loving disco queens. And the Dorian Electra remix of “Replay” is for the gen Z ballroom and runway queens who like a hard bassline, and think disco is old and only know of it because Dua Lipa did it. But those with taste will appreciate both as what they are. Great songs.

The whole purpose of Chromatica was to create a great dance record, but the end result was something which was so bland and void of any real joy, which I guess mirrors the lyrics - but it created this weird disconnect. The music was saying ‘Party’, but the lyrics were saying ‘Bitch, I’m struggling’. Dawn of Chromatica does the same, but creates levels and nuances in each of the songs which were not there before. Not every remix on this album is perfect. But it makes for a far more interesting album to listen to, which feels closer to the vision that I personally had of Chromatica when it was first teased.

The only thing that leaves a sour taste (of candy, OOOP!) with me about this album is the roster of talent. What I’m about to say is more a commentary on white queer pop culture than this album, but it’s a fitting time to bring it up. I wish that when it came to queer visibility in music that artists would look beyond the usual suspects. You’d think that Pabllo Vittar, Dorian Electra and Chester Lockhart were the only queer artists in existence the way they continually appear on these types of albums. One of many things that made Kelela’s TAKE_ME_A_PART, THE REMIXES album so amazing was that it not only featured a selection of known queer talent (Black and of colour), but also introduced me to a whole range of underground artists, of whom I’m a fan of now.

Lady Gaga is appealing to her fans, who will know Pabllo, Dorian and Chester, by proxy of also being fans of the likes of Charli XCX and Rina Sawayama, both of whom have worked with these artists. And it’s certainly not some white woman’s sole responsibility to put Black queers artists on any platform like some form of hand-out. And I wouldn't expect Lady Gaga to include such artists on every song. It's cool to see LSDXOXO in the mix. But I do wish that more people with platforms made a conscious effort to broaden the scope of what their followers see, because queer culture is so much bigger than it appears to be seen as in the mainstream pop media. 

There was a disconnect between how I felt Lady Gaga saw Chromatica, how I saw it and how it ended up sounding. Dawn of Chromatica features all of the colour and boldness that I expected from Chromatica, whilst also re-capturing the energy of Lady Gaga’s earlier albums, her work with RedOne and a little of Artpop. Dawn of Chromatica features all of the jubilance that the original release lacked. Not only was Chromatica supposed to be a celebration of togetherness, but it was supposed to be a personal celebration of Lady Gaga finding her way back from dark times and reclaiming herself. Chromatica failed the original assignment, but Dawn of Chromatica retook the test over the Summer and it passed.

To remove myself and my thoughts out of the equation completely, I think that Lady Gaga’s fans who are honest with themselves and know that Chromatica wasn’t as good as it could have been, are going to really dig this release.

When Lady Gaga works on her seventh studio album, she’d be wise to perhaps put Bloodpop on the backburner and approach the album like it is a remix album, bringing back many of those who helped put Dawn of Chromatica together. I know Gaga has love for Bloodpop, but he built Chromatica in his own vision instead of hers, and missed many a mark.

Dawn of Chromatica is everything the original Chromatica should’ve been.

VERDICT: *Alice sits in Wanderland* 'This is fine'.

Highlights:
■ Alice (LSDXOXO Remix) 🔥
■ Stupid Love (COUCOU CHLOE Remix) 🔥
■ Free Woman (Rina Sawayama & Clarence Clarity Remix) 🔥
■ Fun Tonight 🔥
■ Plastic Doll (Ashnikko Remix)
■ Sour Candy (Shygirl & Mura Masa Remix) 🔥
■ Enigma (Doss Remix) 🔥
■ Replay (Dorian Electra Remix) 🏆
■ 1000 Doves (Planningtorock Remix)