Lady Gaga - ARTPOP Track By Track Album Review

8. Artpop

Swirling synthesisers and electronic beats introduce the album's title track. The song's verses are both melodious and gorgeous before the chorus really brings it home, it's just a pity that this is another case of Lady GaGa overthinking everything. The song's lyrics deal with a relationship between two people who seemingly shouldn't work together, which she then goes on to compare to the relationship between "art" and "pop". Thankfully, the track itself is catchy and unusual enough to overlook the clumsy metaphors and by the time GaGa delivers the closing line "free my mind ARTPOP/you make my heart stop", she's won us over.

9. Swine

When Lady GaGa headlined the iTunes festival earlier this year, Swine was one of the songs that had got people talking the most and yet on the album it doesn't really make much of an impact. It's certainly a lot less commercial both in its production and its lyrics than tracks like Do What U Want or Sexxx Dreams, yet while you would think this would make it stand out more, in fact it just makes itself less inviting to repeated listens. As the name might suggest, GaGa sounds a lot angrier on this song than she does on other cuts from ARTPOP. "You're just a pig inside a human body/squealer squealer squealer you're so disgusting!" she sings in the song's chorus before an electronic breakdown kicks in.

10. Donatella

Fans of Lady GaGa's earlier work, particularly songs Beautiful Dirty Rich or The Fame, this one is just for you! The song's spoken word intro has Lady GaGa putting on her best valley girl voice and muttering "I'm skinny, I'm rich...and I'm a little bit of a bitch", which sets the tone for the rest of the song, which acts as an ode to the spoilt diva we all have lurking inside of us somewhere. The chorus is almost like an explosion of electronic beats with GaGa shouting almost inaudibly "Do-na-tell-a!", but unlike previous tracks like Aura or Swine this time it's more cries of euphoria than rage. Lady GaGa has said in the past that she creates her music with the idea in her head that it will be used for catwalks and fashion shows, and nowhere on ARTPOP is this more apparent than on Donatella, which almost begs you to strut along in your sunglasses, even if it is November!