Lady Gaga – Disease Review

Lady Gaga’s image as the star of pop power was, inevitably, set to make a return. Her Queen of Pop image was on ice as she explored new avenues of work. A Star is Born feels so far removed from what she accomplished on her debut album The Fame. These layers of cultural interest are important to how Gaga defines this return to the studio. It is not as though Gaga has been inactive. From the charming Tony Bennett collaboration Love for Sale to the preceding consistencies of forgotten album Chromatica, there has always been something for the Shallow songwriter to develop. She returns with Disease. Try to overcome the nostalgia now peppering her earliest works. Disease is a drifting and unpolished song, but will give those dedicated fans something to scream about.

It feels inevitable that an electro-pop song from an artist this big is formed on reflection. These are the safety nets of a genre where its dedicated listeners demand a personable flourish. But in this direct form, we lose the metaphorical edge. Lady Gaga is frank and reveals what Disease is all about all too easily. There is no work from the listener to be done, we are not trusted enough to pick apart the message or mode of its delivery. Straight to the point and with some loose, flowery lyrics to go along with it. The inevitable crunch of the genre and its evolution away from a sound Gaga presided over just a decade ago overwhelms what little there is to Disease. Back-and-forth vocals, the poison and antidote given no time to breathe, their potential for narrative scope wrapped in just two lines and repeated. Even the instrumental boldness, which is all Disease has after a few playthroughs, is lacking.

Where Disease feels uniquely Gaga in its presentation and instrumentation, the shallow waters of its lyrical thoughts are a real shame. Sin and consequences of heartbreak should be this marvellous projection, not some placid process. Gaga has an exceptional voice and this carries Disease, barely. A loud and boisterous song without much to shout about. Gutsy vocal performances and a cool yet unrefined sense of instrumental excess are no longer enough to breach the charts or leave a lasting impression. Disease presents a pop icon playing catch-up with the genre. She has not slotted back into place as first expected and it will take time to hear where Gaga takes this – but Disease does little to stand out beyond having a slightly darker connotation of the electro-pop style. 

Even then the gloom comes from a brief narrative Gaga can only provide with on-the-nose lyrics. The simplicity of the writing is disappointing, a step behind the contemporary and left-field artists dominating the genre. And yet our nostalgia gets the better of us as it always does, and most will have a soft spot for this solely from the name attached to it. Disease is limited but presents its message, as simple as it is, with the blunt charm Gaga so often brings to the table. No hiccups or trouble within and yet no sense of risk or urgency. Another of the pop artists returns where a familiar face and a message of self-evaluation is key, as it always is. Her debut effort had these same tones of darker electro fun, and with it was a lyrical scope which still defines Gaga’s work. Disease is not about moving away or overshadowing those great songs but it fails to meet the standard Gaga set over a decade ago.