Pitchfork reviews 'ARTPOP' with 7.3 score

[KORG 4,756]

2 hours ago, NATAH said:

Gypsy is genuinley painful to listen to at loud volumes, like actually hurts my ears

and this has been an issue across multiple devices and earphones

Oh yeah I can understand that..

It's because of your ears 

[Mister G 9,163]

Here we go with another chapter of ARTPOP VS Chromatica. Why is it so hard for people to move on with life and allow both albums to exist in their own right? World is big enough for them to exist yet now a full 2.5 years later people still arguing about which one is better. 
  
Here’s the deal, ARTPOP and Chromatica are essentially two sides of the same coin and one has strengths that the other doesn’t and vice-versa.

Lyrically, ARTPOP is a slight degree better and I think a lot of it is really because Chromatica‘s tracks are shorter than anything in the past. Chromatica has more cohesion than ARTPOP and sadly a lot of ARTPOP’s songs sound very dated. Chromatica has better mixing at times, but ARTPOP’s tracks do hit a bit harder at times like Sexxx Dreams, Applause, Mary Jane Holland and G.U.Y. 
  
People keep forgetting that Gaga did with Chromatica what she tried to do with ARTPOP but because it was so misunderstood conceptually and all the turmoil with her record label, it basically flatlined shortly after the album dropped. No one can deny her biggest enemy is her and that Chromatica was truly inspired by ARTPOP. Take away the pink aesthetics and look at the messaging: “My ARTPOP could mean anything” and “In Chromatica no one thing is greater than another.” Both albums literally were aiming at visualizing this world as Gaga sees it where we have the freedom to interpret the “art” as meaning anything and understanding that no one thing being greater than another becomes reality when everyone is free. Not to mention ARTPOP’s lyrics of “Free my mind ARTPOP” to Alice’s “Maestro play me your symphony, I will listen to anything take me on a trip DJ free my mind.”

So at the end, stop the drama and start the music because this constant struggle of one being superior over the other has been going on for far too long. Appreciate what ARTPOP means to you and today, but dragging Chromatica, Joanne, or Born This Way isn’t going to change what happened to ARTPOP in 2013/2014.

[NATAH 31,169]

28 minutes ago, KORG said:

Oh yeah I can understand that..

It's because of your ears 

idk, my ears are fine with the 10s of thousands of other songs i own

[holy scheisse 20,233]

A gay intern wrote this review 

[Benji 20,113]

7.3 is too generous, I’d say it’s more like a 6.

Few bangers, then the rest is forgettable or straight up terrible.  Most of the tracks are so poorly produced and flat, thankfully Dolby has helped this slightly.

[Benji 20,113]

5 hours ago, KORG said:

ARTPOP's mixing is objectively better than chromatica.

Actually  the lyrics, hooks, themes, absurdity, danceability & let's face it.. quality.. ARTPOP is better than both Chromatica & Joanne. 

People love to trash the album but when it gets down to it  they can never explain why with the music itself. The only album that comes close to ARTPOP in quality is TFM & most if the love for that is through glory-supporting because of its success.

Ring metacritic, this is the true pop emergency!

ARTPOP’s mixing and production is terrible   Soulless, flat and dated on release.  We get you like ARTPOP but the lies y’all will come up with to defend liking it… too much

[freebit 6,055]

7 hours ago, Kim Petass said:

Finally ! It was actually the only Gaga album they never reviewed. In the Pop Pantheon podcast episode about Gaga music journalist Lindsay Zoladz explained she was the one having to review ARTPOP but she had the flu this week, and nobody else wanted to review it 

 

I actually feel like a good review from P4k would have changed a bit of the album's perception back then.  

Now ARTPOP has organically become a cult classic, and we know ARTPOP didn't kill her career, and P4K matters a bit less now, it's all kind of bittersweet and whatever tbh. 

[KORG 4,756]

48 minutes ago, NATAH said:

idk, my ears are fine with the 10s of thousands of other songs i own

You've damaged them over time! Try candling  i shall take no ARTPOP slander

[KORG 4,756]

30 minutes ago, Benji said:

ARTPOP’s mixing and production is terrible   Soulless, flat and dated on release.  We get you like ARTPOP but the lies y’all will come up with to defend liking it… too much

FLAT! that's the best way to describe chromatica! I love it but the production does not hit at all, unfortunately.

This isn't slating it, but its my biggest issue with chromatica, otherwise it'd be way better

[Donatellah 919]

1 hour ago, Benji said:

7.3 is too generous, I’d say it’s more like a 6.

Few bangers, then the rest is forgettable or straight up terrible.  Most of the tracks are so poorly produced and flat, thankfully Dolby has helped this slightly.

I disagree cause ARTPOP, though it's for sure a flawed album, has many ups and good stuff. I'd give it a 7.5 to a 8.1

1 hour ago, Benji said:

ARTPOP’s mixing and production is terrible   Soulless, flat and dated on release.  We get you like ARTPOP but the lies y’all will come up with to defend liking it… too much

Nahnah, ARTPOP's mixing is better compared to BTW's and TFM's. The production obviously sounds dated cause it's a ****ing 2013 album and it definitely, to me, doesn't sound soulless in fact, every ARTPOP track (apart from Dope) has loud and vivid instrumentation, for example: G.U.Y., Aura, Mary Jane Holland, Gypsy.

I'd say that I personally "defend" ARTPOP due to these kinds of opinions of yours which I consider wrong, and that being said, I'm aware ARTPOP has many flaws (as every Gaga album does) such as: some tracks ending up overproduced, the collabs, and yeah, perhaps some lyrics. 

[Corous 261]

ARTPOP is Gaga's weakest album to date from lyrics to mixing, chromatica is far superior, SOME fans are only obsessed with  ARTPOP because of the nostalgia 

[Benji 20,113]

55 minutes ago, KORG said:

FLAT! that's the best way to describe chromatica! I love it but the production does not hit at all, unfortunately.

This isn't slating it, but its my biggest issue with chromatica, otherwise it'd be way better

ARTPOP literally just sounds like they ripped some instrumentals off SoundCloud and slapped Gaga’s vocals over it, it’s a mess 

Chromatica is beautiful, personally I think it’s her best album.  Produced perfectly and punchy. 

[Mister G 9,163]

20 minutes ago, Donatellah said:

I disagree cause ARTPOP, though it's for sure a flawed album, has many ups and good stuff. I'd give it a 7.5 to a 8.1

Nahnah, ARTPOP's mixing is better compared to BTW's and TFM's. The production obviously sounds dated cause it's a ****ing 2013 album and it definitely, to me, doesn't sound soulless in fact, every ARTPOP track (apart from Dope) has loud and vivid instrumentation, for example: G.U.Y., Aura, Mary Jane Holland, Gypsy.

I'd say that I personally "defend" ARTPOP due to these kinds of opinions of yours which I consider wrong, and that being said, I'm aware ARTPOP has many flaws (as every Gaga album does) such as: some tracks ending up overproduced, the collabs, and yeah, perhaps some lyrics. 

ARTPOP’s mixing I will agree is better than some of Born This Way’s for sure. Highway Unicorn, Electric Chapel, Bad Kids and Americano to me sound messy at times. For me I loved ARTPOP a lot and defended it back then because no one really understood or appreciated the Reverse Warholian Experience she aimed for but couldn’t see through because of all the complications with stuff behind the scenes. 

[Benji 20,113]

20 minutes ago, Donatellah said:

I disagree cause ARTPOP, though it's for sure a flawed album, has many ups and good stuff. I'd give it a 7.5 to a 8.1

Nahnah, ARTPOP's mixing is better compared to BTW's and TFM's. The production obviously sounds dated cause it's a ****ing 2013 album and it definitely, to me, doesn't sound soulless in fact, every ARTPOP track (apart from Dope) has loud and vivid instrumentation, for example: G.U.Y., Aura, Mary Jane Holland, Gypsy.

I'd say that I personally "defend" ARTPOP due to these kinds of opinions of yours which I consider wrong, and that being said, I'm aware ARTPOP has many flaws (as every Gaga album does) such as: some tracks ending up overproduced, the collabs, and yeah, perhaps some lyrics. 

Born This Way is also mixed poorly, I agree with that.  What saves Born This Way is that the production has such a timeless feel to it because, unlike with ARTPOP, they weren’t chasing a dated EDM trend with producers like Zedd and DJWS’ “trap.”  That sound was dying in 2012 and then ARTPOP didn’t come out until a whole year later 

It certainly has “loud” production but it’s just a mess.  Songs like GUY and Gypsy are mostly just noise where they’re mixed so poorly.

[metalguru 583]

Fair score. ARTPOP is more of a theory than an actuality. There are some flawless, out of this world moments but gosh, the production and track-list! ARTPOP could’ve been her “Scary Monsters & Super Creeps” if she went with organic, instrumental production but the final product is muted by electronics, tiresome textures and confused traclisting. The album still means so much to me, but each time I start listening, it also makes me feel sad that she missed such a great opportunity. I do not want ARTPOP  II -instead, I would prefer a new version with tighter track list (bye bye Jewels..), trimmed-down EDM, added saxophones, piano bridges, acoustics etc. I always feel like Gaga is being slowed down by her label and producers but she could easily rewrite the past if she wants to. 

All being said, what an era it was! Misunderstood and misconstrued, ARTPOP will always be a mutiny, a grotesque and flawed little gem, close to hearts, and ever-green, against its ill-faded circumstances .