Chromatica

レディー・ガガ、原点回帰&完全復活!2020年5月に発売となった、レディー・ガガ6枚目のアルバム『クロマティカ』のRecord Store Day 2021限定版

Chromatica is a comeback album from an artist who has never gone away and never experienced a dip in popularity. Maybe Artpop provided a dent in her armor back in 2013, with none of its singles dominating the charts or conversation the way the hits from The Fame Monster and Born This Way did, but the album went to number one, as did her 2014 duet record with Tony Bennett, as did 2016s purported country-rock makeover Joanne, and the soundtrack to 2018s A Star Is Born, a smash that also earned her an Oscar for the ballad Shallow. None of these stylistic excursions can be heard on Chromatica -- there isnt even a ballad that attempts to replicate the surging pathos of Shallow -- but they can be felt underneath the diamond-hard surface of this determined revival of Gagas dance-pop roots. By dedicating the entirety of her sixth proper studio set to club music, shes effectively declaring that shes come in from the cold, but the old-school show biz moves that made her beloved of old-timers like Bennett and Hollywood alike can be heard by how she slyly finds cameo space for her spiritual godfather Elton John and Ariana Grande, the biggest star in dance-pop in 2020. Gaga stands proudly between these two poles, hipper than Elton John but sounding down-right old-fashioned when compared to Grande. Gaga leans into her status as a veteran on Chromatica, making only the mildest attempts to sound modern. Shed rather revive memories of The Fame Monster while evoking sounds that conjure memories of the 90s and Y2K. Since its been so long since Gaga has been determined to deliver glitzy thrills, it might take a moment to realize that Chromatica is simultaneously a retreat from the contemporary pop charts and as personal a record as Joanne, which was touted as her singer/songwriter affair. Chromatica willfully ignores trap and the other dour pop trends of the late 2010s for exuberant disco and house, styles that are not only in her musical comfort zone but allow her the freedom to explore personal pain and loss, such as the cry for help of 911. The emotional urgency driving a good chunk of the songs means Chromatica doesnt feel stiff or fusty even if it rejects the present, and theres also a lot to be said for the show biz razzle-dazzle Gaga has absorbed in the years since Artpop. Maybe shes lost her appetite to be a weird provocateur, but she has learned how to sharpen and stylize her attack, and that focus makes Chromatica one of her most consistent and satisfying albums. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

レディー・ガガのニュー・アルバム『Chromatica』は最高だ。前作『Joanne』(2016年)ではカントリーを採り入れたりと、アメリカのルーツ・ミュージックと向き合ってきた近年の方向性とは違うサウンドが鳴っている。疾走感溢れるジャングル・ビートが突如鳴り響くエルトン・ジョンとの"Sine From Above"、初期のダフト・パンクやスターダストあたりのフレンチ・ハウスを想起させる"Rain On Me"(アリアナ・グランデが客演)など、私たちを奮い立たせ、踊らせるダンス・ナンバーばかりだ。女性讃歌の"Free Woman"を筆頭に、歌詞も聴きどころが多い。筆者のお気に入りは"Sour Candy"だ。BLACKPINKとコラボしたこの曲には、〈女性らしさ〉を求める人たちへの皮肉が滲む。
bounce (C)近藤真弥