Arts & Entertainment
Album roundup: Gaga just so-so on new album ‘Chromatica’
Indigo Girls shine, Adam nails it and Perfume Genius — wtf?
Lady Gaga
Chromatica (**1/2 out of four)
Streamline/Interscope
Although Lady Gaga has never had an out-and-out bomb, she lost her footing a bit with her 2013 album “Artpop.”
Her fans point to its decent chart performance (it debuted at no. 1 and went platinum) and say that’s more perception than reality, but she was starting to experience a law of diminishing returns. The danceclub hits and outrageous fashion upon which she built her brand didn’t resonate the same way five years into her career.
She wisely recognized that and veered hard left making an album with Tony Bennett (of all people; 2014’s “Cheek to Cheek”), recapturing the pop culture zeitgeist with movie debut “A Star is Born” (pleasantly, she actually can act) and go mellow and subdued with her last studio album, 2016’s more singer/songwriter-oriented “Joanne.”
“Chromatica” (out May 29) is her official return to form. It all goes down breezily enough — it’s an easy, catchy listen — yet it’s also not quite the reclaiming of the pop diva throne she clearly intended it to be. It’s good, not great; her fans will love it and it will make a respectable chart dent but creatively she’s painted herself into a corner. While some of her unexpected (at the time) career swerves served her well and were well received, you can’t build a whole career on stunt casting — the meat dress! the Tony Bennett duets! “American Horror Story”! a “normal” album from kooky Gaga! Stuff like that only gets you so far then you’re kinda back where you were five years prior (albeit with an Oscar in tow).
Eventually you have to return to the business of doing what it is you supposedly do and a decade in to her admittedly impressive career, it feels like she’s reaching the bottom of her bag of creative tricks. “Chromatica” suggests to me we’ll look back on her in 50 years more as a Petula Clark (the singer of a decent string of era-defining standards)-type figure rather than a Bette Midler or, heck, even a Kelly Clarkson.
Gaga takes the “Confessions on a Dancefloor” approach here — there’s not a ballad in the batch. Track after track — first single “Stupid Love,” “Plastic Doll,” “Replay” and dozens more — are full of big, luscious, vaguely ’80s-tinged club beats courtesy of producer BloodPop (Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, et. al.), and melodies that take advantage of her impressive set of lungs. The lady can sing — nobody is arguing otherwise.
But it all gets a little samey sounding by the album’s end and a trio of orchestral interludes (dubbed “Chromatica,” “Chromatica II” and “Chromatica III”) sound like they were yanked off some poor man’s Ralph Vaughan Williams imitation attempt and tacked on for contrast and gravitas. They backfire though, sounding like ludicrous non sequiturs.
Lyrically there’s nothing terribly interesting happening but the guest spots — Ariana Grande on second single “Rain on Me,” K-pop girl group Blackpink on “Sour Candy” and Elton John on “Sine From Above” — work slightly better than you’d think. She doubles John’s vocal an octave above to pleasant effect. Glammy, campy (but fun!) final song “Babylon” had me picturing the “Queer as Folk” cast on the dancefloor.
Indigo Girls
Look Long (***1/2)
Rounder Records
It’s easy to take the Indigo Girls for granted. Although it’s been five years since their last studio album (2015’s “One Lost Day”), they keep busy with constant (pre-COVID-19) touring, regular solo outings from both members (Emily Saliers and Amy Ray, both lesbians) and even a live symphony album “Indigo Girls Live with the University of Colorado Symphony Orchestra” (2018).
Their new album “Long Look,” (May 22) however, is a pleasant reminder that not only are they greater vocally than the sum of their parts — their harmonies are truly heavenly — their songwriting is so assured and mature, they’re doing some of their best work now ages after aging (sadly) out of commercial relevance. John Reynolds, who also produced their 1999 album “Come On Now Social,” is back at the reins.
Standout cuts are the groovey, swampy opener “Shit Kickin,’” dance-around-the-campfire-esque “Howl at the Moon,” the plaintive title cut (in which they sound vocally as lovely as Emmylou Harris) and sonic curveball “Favorite Flavor.” Musically overall, this is Americana.
Topics are lyrically varied. “Feel This Way Again” is an urge to teens to savor emotions, album closer “Sorrow and Joy” is a well-crafted examination of ‘80s-era politics and it varies outward from there. Only occasionally (the chorus of “Flavor” or the slightly cloying “Country Radio”) do things feel a tad forced.
Perfume Genius
Set My Heart on Fire Immediately (*1/2)
Matador
Perfume Genius (aka Michael Hadreas) is back with his fifth album (it dropped mid-May) and while it’s more accessible (which isn’t saying much) than his previous efforts — some tracks actually feel like songs — it’s still a tough listen and something you have to be in the mood for.
Atmospherically, there’s a lot here to appreciate — the dreamy, ethereal “Whole Life,” the gauzy, fuzzy rock guitars on “Describe,” the retro organ underpinnings of “One More Try” and so on. One senses here that no instrumental choice or sonic effect was chosen haphazardly; Hadreas (38 and gay) and producer Blake Mills (who returns after 2017’s “No Shape”) took obvious care and mood and texture, to them, is everything (it certainly trumps melody and tempo).
The degree to which you like this album will be proportional to how much avant garde you can stomach. I tried to just close my eyes and savor it on its own terms but I also couldn’t wait for it to be over. The too-precious-by-half, whispery falsetto vocals on “Jason,” the plodding, uncategorizable “Your Body Changes Everything” and the sonic whiplash of “Some Dream,” which sounds like silly nonsense, had me itching to go put on some Jonas Brothers.
In fairness, though, could this be one of those magical albums that just needs time to seep into your pores? An album you endure on the first listen but can’t get enough of three months later? It’s a fair question, but I’m going with no. Texture solely for the sake of texture — and that’s what this feels like — just isn’t enough for me.
Adam Lambert
Velvet (***1/2)
Empire Distribution
An album you might have missed (somehow I did) that dropped in late March is the new Adam Lambert project “Velvet,” the gay “American Idol” runner-up’s fourth.
Lambert here manages to hit that sonic sweet spot where the production sounds both retro yet uber contemporary. There’s a funky, groovy, ’70s/Stax vibe here but also a 2020-kind of top coat on everything that sounds utterly of the moment.
Stylistically it’s still varied. “Superpower” is slutty and all attitude, “Loverboy” is a neo-disco shuffle, “Comin’ in Hot” is slinky and skanky and “Love Don’t” is a gritty rocker. “Ready to Run” has rock swagger and gospel organ accents. First single “Roses,” a duet with Nile Rodgers (of Chic) has lovely hooks and atmosphere to spare. It’s a romantic kiss-off to a lover who offers gestures but little else.
There are only a handful of slow songs, a straightforward piano ballad (“Closer to You”) and closer “Feel Something,” the album’s only pensive, moody moment.
Only occasionally and fleetingly does Lambert fumble — a weak chorus on “New Eyes,” a couple spots where the hooks aren’t quite enough to undergird the swagger and energy, but even then, Lambert’s shimmering whale of a voice — his calling card — is enough to sustain pleasure throughout. This is my summer car album for sure.
Galleries
BMA celebrates enduring influence of Henri Matisse
Exhibit features iconic works juxtaposed with gay artist’s paintings inspired by French legend
The Baltimore Museum of Art is on a roll.
After landing the coveted Amy Sherald “American Sublime” exhibit (through April 5) when the National Portrait Gallery attempted to censor her work, the BMA is debuting a breathtaking and thought-provoking new exhibit, “To See This Light Again” featuring master works by Henri Matisse paired with new paintings by Louis Fratino, who is inspired by the French modernist legend.
Fratino, who’s gay, was born in Annapolis and studied at Baltimore’s Maryland Institute College of Art. As an art student, he found himself spending lots of time in the BMA’s Matisse galleries, the largest collection of his works in the world, encompassing more than 1,600 paintings, drawings, and illustrations. At just 33, Fratino has enjoyed a “meteoric” rise in the art world, according to BMA Director Asma Naeem, who introduced Fratino at an event previewing the exhibit last week. This is Fratino’s first major U.S. exhibition, but he was featured in the 2024 Venice Biennale and his paintings can be found at the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and elsewhere.
The exhibit aims to explore Matisse’s lasting influence by juxtaposing his works with Fratino’s.
“It’s the idea that art manifests a kind of attention or a vision for your life, that it can be a beautiful life despite certain circumstances that may be happening around you,” Fratino said in a statement released by the BMA. “In Matisse’s case, he lived through the First and Second World Wars. Painting can confirm that life is beautiful and that it’s worth looking at.”
The influences are apparent, from the use of light and pattern to the choice to focus on everyday objects and subjects. And the exhibit is unabashedly queer with male couples depicted in a couple of paintings. Fratino told the Blade that as an out gay man, it was important to embrace that visibility.
He describes a “joy of looking” at the male form, just as Matisse portrayed female figures that often celebrated the tradition of painting nudes.
In “Tom,” Fratino captured his subject in casual repose that includes a bowl and spoon in the foreground. It is presented alongside Matisse’s iconic “Large Reclining Nude.” Tom’s checkered shirt echoes the blue and white grid background of the Matisse work and both figures are holding casual, relaxed poses.
“Fratino and Matisse: To See This Light Again” runs through Sept. 6 at the Baltimore Museum of Art (artbma.org.)
For Matisse lovers, the BMA has another exhibit debuting March 29 titled, “Matisse in Vence: The Stations of the Cross” featuring more than 80 drawings revealing how the artist “shaped his late‑career masterpiece, the Stations of the Cross mural, for the Chapel of the Rosary in Vence, France.”
Books
Laverne Cox, Liza Minnelli among authors with new books
A tome for every taste this reading season
Spring is a great time to think about vacations, spring break, lunch on the patio, or an afternoon in the park. You’ll want to bring one (or all!) of these great new books.
So let’s start here: What are you up for? How about a great new novel?
If you’re a mystery fan, you’ll want to make reservations to visit “Disaster Gay Detective Agency” by Lev AC Rosen (Poisoned Pen Press, June 2). It’s a whodunit featuring a group of gay roommates, one of whom is a swoony romantic. Add a mysterious man who disappears and a murder, of course, and you’ve got the novel you need for the beach.
Don’t discount young adult books, if you want something light to read this spring. “What Happened to Those Girls” by Carlyn Greenwald (Sourcebooks Fire, June 30) is a thriller about mean girls and a camping trip that goes terribly, bloodily wrong. Meant for teens ages 14 and up, young adult books are breezier and lighter fare for the busy grown-up reader.
If you loved “Boyfriend Material” and “Husband Material,” you’ll be eager for the next installment from author Alexis Hall. “Father Material” (Sourcebooks Casablanca, June 2) takes Luc and Oliver to the next step. First was dating. Then was marriage. Is it time for the sound of pitter-patter on the kitchen floor?
Maybe something even lighter? Then how about a book of essays – like “The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Gay” bycomedian and writer Eliot Glazer (Gallery Books, Aug. 11). It’s a book of essays on being gay today, the irritations, the joys, and fitting in. Be aware that these essays may contain a bit of spice – but isn’t that what you want for your reading pleasure anyhow, hmmm?
But okay, let’s say you want something with a little more heft to it. How about a biography?
Look for “Transcendant” by Laverne Cox (Gallery Books, June 9), or “Kids, Wait Till You Hear This” by Liza Minnelli (Grand Central Publishing, March 10), and “Every Inch a Lady” by Audrey Smaltz with Alina Mitchell (Amistad, July 14). Keep your eyes open for “Without Prejudice: My Life as a Gay Judge” by Harvey Brownstone (ECW Press, May 26) or “The Double Dutch Fuss” by Phill Branch (Amistad, June 2).
Then again, maybe you want some history, or something different.
So here: look for “Queer Saints: A Radical Guide to Magic, Miracles, and Modern Intercession” by Antonio Pagliarulo (Weiser, June 1) for a little bit of faith-based gay. Music lovers will want “Mighty Real: A History of LGBTQ Music, 1969-2000” by Barry Walters (Viking, May 12). Activists will want “In the Arms of Mountains: A Memoir of Land, Love, and Queer Resistance in Red America” byformer Idaho state Sen. Cole Nicole LeFavour (Beacon Press, May 26).
And if these books aren’t enough, then be sure to check with your favorite bookseller or librarian. They’ll have exactly what you’re in the mood to read. They’ll find what you need for that patio, beach towel, or easy chair.
Music & Concerts
Gaga, Cardi B, and more to grace D.C. stages this spring
Shake off your winter doldrums at a local concert
D.C. shakes off its winter blues this spring as the music scene pops off. We all know the big star is coming: Lady Gaga will perform at Capital One Arena on March 23. But plenty of other stars, big and small, will grace D.C. stages, including many LGBTQ and ally artists.
March
3/15, 9:30 Club, St. Lucia – Indie electronic music project known for its synth-pop sound, which blends ‘80s influences with electronic and indie rock elements.
3/31, Lincoln Theatre, Perfume Genius – Indie/pop singer/songwriter Mike Hadreas, also known as Perfume Genius, has toured with a full band, but he is stripping things back for this tour.
April
4/8, Capital One, Cardi B. Cardi B, from New York, unapologetic and proud, is the first solo female artist to win the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. This year, she’s on her Little Miss Drama Tour, in support of her second studio album, “Am I the Drama?”
4/13, Lincoln Theatre, The Naked Magicians. Australia’s The Naked Magicians are two performers who deliver live magic and laughs while wearing nothing but a top hat and a smile.
4/18, Capital One, Florence and the Machine. Longstanding indie rock back from Great Britain, much-loved for lead singer Florence’s powerful vocals. On their Everybody Scream Tour.
4/16, Capital One, Demi Lovato. Singer/songwriter from Texas, who came out as nonbinary, is traveling on her “It’s Not That Deep Tour.”
4/21, The Anthem, Calum Scott. Platinum-selling gay singer/songwriter Calum Scott released his latest project, Avenoir, last year. Scott rose to fame in 2015 after competing on Britain’s Got Talent, where he performed a cover of Robyn’s hit “Dancing on My Own“.
4/26, Atlantis, Caroline Kingsbury. American queer pop musician from Los Angeles. She released her debut album in 2021, and has two additional EPs. She’s played Lollapalooza 2025 and All Things Go 2025, as well as gone on a co-headlining U.S. tour with MARIS. Shock Treatment is her latest EP.
4/26, Anthem, Raye. This bisexual artist, known for her current chart-topping “”Where Is My Husband!” single, blends pop, jazz, R&B, and more.
4/30, Union Stage, Daya. This bisexual singer/songwriter is on her “Til Every Petal Drops Tour,” touring the album of the same name that was released last year.
May
5/1, The Anthem, Joost Klein. Eurovision comes to D.C. in Joost Klein: Originally a Youtuber, he was selected to represent the Netherlands at Eurovision in 2024 with his song “Europapa.” He released a new album on New Year’s Day.
5/1, Fillmore, MIKA. MIKA is on his Spinning Out Tour. Born in Beirut and raised in both Paris and London, MIKA sings in multiple languages and has co-hosted Eurovision.
5/7, 9:30 Club, COBRAH. Clara Christensen, is a Swedish singer, songwriter, record producer, and club queen, making electronic dance music.
5/19, Atlantis, Grace Ives. New York-born singer/songwriter, known for her high-energy synth/electronic, bedroom-pop-style music.
June
6/2, The Anthem, James Blake. English crooner got big from his self-titled debut album in 2011. He won two Grammys and just released his 7th album,Trying Times, in March.
BMA celebrates enduring influence of Henri Matisse
Gay Venezuelan man ‘forcibly disappeared’ to El Salvador files claim against White House
Trump proclamation targets trans rights as State Dept. shifts visa policy
Adolescentes trans en Ecuador podrán cambiar datos en su cédula, pero con condicionamientos
Gay Cameroonian immigrant will be freed from ICE detention — for now
Trump will refuse to sign voting bill without anti-trans provisions
PHOTOS: ‘Defrosted’
Ukrainian Supreme Court recognizes same-sex couple as a family
Md. Legislative LGBTQ+ Caucus outlines 2026 priorities
