Gaga is more flamboyant, sexualised, and pulsating than ever, but whether you would actually want to listen to the 15 tracks that make up Artpop all in one go is debatable.
The mass of ideas, and density of throbbing layers can, initially, make it hard to hear either the pop hits, or the more innovative aspects of individual songs on her fourth album, but consuming it in more bite-sized pieces eventually allows some of them to filter through.
She's certainly turned up the 80s knob, without making any overt references - the synth selections and bass lines put you right back in a leotard-tastic aerobics video, though this one has raunchier moves. Gaga's also embraced the stadium-sized guitar riff and rather convincingly mixed some heavy rock cliches with her technicolour brand of dance music.
Though the album opens promisingly with Aura, all mariachi and Middle Eastern guitar motifs and toe-tapping, which wind you into a heady, warped world of cosmic lovers and burqas, Venus is a slightly grating mash-up of space and Greek gods, and it's hard to tell whether the gender-bending lyrics of G.U.Y (Girl Under You) are interesting or just confused.
On the other hand, despite its almost parody-esque lyrical content, Sexxx Dreams has a certain pop appeal with thick synth chords and overly funked-up bass. The weird hip hop-grime hybrid Jewels N' Drugs feels gimmicky though, even for Gaga.
