6/10

When people talk about Lady Gaga, it's usually her initial songs that get the most attention. Having had huge success with a string of karaoke classics at the start of her career, in the last few years, Gaga has been trying to push her music in a different direction, which first came to the surface on her 2013 album 'Artpop'. And while that release was seen as a little too far removed from her stadium pop foundation, she is back once again with a collaboration-heavy release, and this time seems to be on the path to nailing this new form.

With an eclectic list of producers that includes Josh Homme, Tame Impala's Kevin Parker, and Mark Ronson (who is responsible for producing the whole release), 'Joanne' is an attempt to really let this front woman spread her creative wings and produce something far more humble. But while the music shows a huge level of growth and diversity within it, Lady Gaga still can't shake those larger-than-life vocals that suited her original material.

Her voice on this record is so high up in the mix, its pretty much all you can hear and ends up drowning the rest of the composition. Still there are plenty of highlights on this release and it is certainly a more cohesive release than 'Artpop'. Hopefully she can hone this new direction even more for the next instalment and produce a truly groundbreaking record.