Lady Gaga, Harlequin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️❌
Lady Gaga is back with a new album comprising mainly of old standards. Apparently she’s singing in the character of Harley Quinn, who she is portraying in Joker: Folie à Deux. Now, while the complete context of how it fits in the movie isn’t quite clear yet, what is clear is that Lady Gaga absolutely kills on this album.
Of course we already knew she could sing these types of songs since her time singing with Tony Bennett, so it’s not shocking. But the arrangements and instrumentation on this album are spot on. Sometimes they really play into the musical/stage play qualities of these songs, but other times they cut loose a little and put some more modern flair in these songs.
I almost feel like this album being connected to the new Joker movie kind of holds it back. I was wondering before I went into it what exactly it was going to be. Was it going to be over-the-top, or violent, versions of these songs since she’s singing in character? Is it going to be just a shameless tie-in? And the answer is no. This album absolutely works as it’s own thing. While I can see the connection it will have to Joker, with a lot of the lyrics centering around a sort of liberation, or being drawn to a charismatic man, or having delusions of grandeur, but it’s definitely not essential to view it through that lens. And I’m sure there will be fans of Joker that are confused by this album because of that fact.
Favorite song: “World On a String”
