My only problem with Chromatica is the lack of genre diversity

[Focus 2,456]

This isn't your average anti-bloodpop thread, I'll try to be as reasoned as possible when it comes to structured criticism and give valid points and not just subjective opions. Chromatica is certainly a great track, and both the popheads community and the critics can agree to that, but it's also necessary it to take a look at the cons.

- 14 out of 15 tracks used the four on the floor rhythm / drum sequence, which is basically kick - hat - snare/clap - hat. The only track without this is Plastic Doll. It's the signature of house music, sure, but again it felt like Gaga singing different melodies over the same ol' drum loop. It was overused to the point it sounded... robotic. Maybe that's what they were going for. Last year I remade every Chromatica's instrumentals except Free Woman pre-leaks and at one point just re-used the same drum loop sample over and over again in every track. Example of what Chromatica used:

- All of the BPMs range from 116-123 so there's not much of a difference from track to track, heck even Joanne had some differences with DIC being 172 then moving onto Perfect Illusion at 125. House can go from 110-130 so it would've been nice to have a slower, more ambient track with something more electronic and fast-paced which she did ALOT during BTW and ARTPOP. Babylon demo was at 112ish IICRC.

- It would've been nice if she didn't just cling to house music throughout the entire album. ARTPOP was a rollercoaster of different genres and sounds, but in Chromatica the production was revolving so excessively around 90s house and the strict no-ballad-allowed rule. I predicted that the album was just a complication of ballads transformed into dance music and a while back it turned out that it's exactly what happened. If Gaga wrote a track with the intention of making it a dance track rather than a ballad, there might be a huge different than writing a ballad then adding a house sample loop on top of it. The only track that doesn't fit the house equation is Stupid Love, which is more synthpop. SFA ended with DnB. Personally I would've loved to see her producers include disco and soft-rock, but house after house can be tedious.

[dynamite 58,898]

I take it the forum has been down all day and it wasn't my internet  

[Focus 2,456]

not the site going down for 6 hours after i posted this 

[Decodekid 28,229]

I disagree, even if it uses a similar drum pattern there’s nothing  wrong with it imo. More than anything, I think it makes it feel cohesive. Gaga is talented enough to make every track standout regardless of them having a similar structure or drum sample as you said. 

[FFXIV WhiteMage 5,926]

15 minutes ago, April 25 said:

not the site going down for 6 hours after i posted this 

GGD disagreeing with your opinion me thinks 

[C1trus 4,341]

That's what makes Chromatica really good tbh. It's like you're listening to a single song called Chromatica but 40+ minutes long.

[Massive Monster 5,003]

I agree that some of the songs are too similar.

Alice is arguably the best one in the house music genre (against Rain On Me/ Fun Tonight/ Free Woman/ 1000 Doves) 

Although Babylon is very house, its such a throwback that it stands out.

And Sour Candy also stand out because of its structure and other language.

The other tracks left I love because they have different genres.

[MOT 3,033]

Great OP. I enjoyed reading it, and I think you may have just given a good technical breakdown of why I like the album so much. I love the consistency of the sound, and it's a sound I happen to like. It would be a diffrent story if it was a sound I didn't like. Fully understand where you're coming from though. Each to their own.

[js4754394o9823 6,882]

6 hours ago, April 25 said:

If Gaga wrote a track with the intention of making it a dance track rather than a ballad, there might be a huge different than writing a ballad then adding a house sample loop on top of it.

I'm pretty sure that she's writing every song on the piano first

So it's not like those songs were meant to be ballads, it's just her working process

Piano Work Tape first, then real production

[Cookie Tookie 10,546]

It’s an album with 90s house influence, what did you expect lol? the 4 on the floor beat is a key component of that era. 
 

The real issue with the album is the obvious condensing and shortening of songs to be under 3 minutes. It did absolutely no favors for the album and it actually had me disappointed that Gaga and her producers would rather follow a trend for some streams than produce fully imagined songs that didn’t need to be shortened. That’s why Born This Way will always be my favorite because they allowed themselves to create songs with no restrictions or boundaries, and implemented solos, breakdowns, intros and outros, etc. 

[lilboyblue 5,256]

I think I remember her saying somewhere that she really wanted to bring back that four on the floor dance rhythm, so I assume this was very intentional on her part. This is also how Chromatica serves as an ode to dance music.

Personally, I quite love it, but I can see why some might find it tiring.

[Focus 2,456]

57 minutes ago, C1trus said:

That's what makes Chromatica really good tbh. It's like you're listening to a single song called Chromatica but 40+ minutes long.

it's all about perspective 

[littlepotter 75,139]

Don't really have an opinion but I'm pretty sure DIC is 86 not 172 bpm  i mean any song can double in BPM if you shorten the intervals

[Focus 2,456]

29 minutes ago, littlepotter said:

Don't really have an opinion but I'm pretty sure DIC is 86 not 172 bpm  i mean any song can double in BPM if you shorten the intervals

It's registered at 172

[VoidTwo 259]

5 minutes ago, April 25 said:

It's registered at 172

 

35 minutes ago, littlepotter said:

Don't really have an opinion but I'm pretty sure DIC is 86 not 172 bpm  i mean any song can double in BPM if you shorten the intervals

It's 115 https://beatportcharts.com/track/dancin-in-circles-original-mix/8539552/