Lady Gaga - ARTPOP

She’s had a traumatic few weeks, losing her childhood dog and firing her longtime manager, but Gaga is back on top. Her fourth studio album takes the “Applause” singer into new stylistic territory with futuristic numbers about love, sex, fame, fashion and outer space. The latter theme is fitting now that Gaga has announced she’ll sing aboard Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic in 2015, becoming the first artist to perform in space. On the ultra-catchy “Venus,” she’s a goddess of love, singing about astrology and the planets over a thudding disco beat. Other out-of-this-world tracks include two crafted by Russian-German producer Zedd: the buzzsaw-driven “G.U.Y.” and the pulsing fashion-world critique “Donatella,” which includes the scathing lines “Walk down the runway, but don’t puke—you had a salad today, boulangerie!” The album’s one gentle moment is the closing “Dope,” a piano ballad in which Gaga confesses her love for the man in her life. It’s the calm amid ARTPOP’s spacey electronic storm.