She dances on the line between clever self-referentiality and less inspired rehashing on her new LP, committing to the over-the-top excess that first made her a star.

Can you feel the Mayhem in the air? Lady Gaga’s seventh studio album is already spreading its chaotic magic as it charges ahead for a Number 1 debut.

Instead, she’s made one of her most sonically challenging and uniform albums yet: a mix of Nine Inch Nails, David Bowie, Prince and her Fame Monster -era self, rolled into the year’s strongest pop release yet.