The Needle Drop: Joanne review (6/10)

[XoXoJoanneGaga 629]

Fair score.

[XoXoJoanneGaga 629]

6 hours ago, Bette Davis said:

One annoying theme that I've noticed in many Joanne reviews, including this one, is how they assume that she was attempting to completely shift away from pop into something different (indie, country, rock, funk, or something else) when she has stated herself that she is still doing pop but infusing it with other genres. Then they run off with this misguided assumption and butcher her for what they see as basically a "half-assed attempt to be something she isn't." 

 

Annoying af 

It's not about being something she isn't, he's more saying that she's capable of going the distance but is held back by her very safe production and lyrical stumbles, hence his statement that she's "trying genres on like an outfit to be worn to the red carpet".

Her intent was to make a straight-up pop record with elements of country, folk, and rock, and that's what she achieved. The criticism doesn't stem from the intent behind the record, rather the execution which is very safe and derivative, albeit pleasant and enjoyable. 6/10 is a very fair score for a record such as that.