Lady Gaga
The Fame Monster (Interscope)

Madonna once remarked that she sees herself in Lady Gaga—and it’s no wonder. Like her Material Girl idol, the 23-year-old New Yorker is that rare breed of pop star that understands that music is essentially performance art. In the year since her debut album The Fame exploded onto the scene, Gaga has brought her heady mix of glammy rock-electronica pop tunes, burlesque-inspired live shows, racy high-fashion costumes, and Andy Warhol–esque sensibility to the global stage, flirting with the paparazzi, shooting up the charts and selling more than four million records.

Like Madge before her, Gaga’s songs are not nearly as avant-garde as her well-crafted shtick. In fact, her biggest hit to date, “Just Dance”, sounds an awful lot like Canadian R&B princess Keisha Chanté, who, as talented as she is, isn’t mistaken for cutting-edge. Lady G’s sophomore release—initially intended as a bonus disc for the re-release of her debut—continues that trend, spinning gothic-sounding tales of sexual adventurism over a soundtrack that’s safely reminiscent of ABBA, Depeche Mode, and Ace of Base. From the smash single “Bad Romance” to the infectious Beyoncé duet “Telephone”, these are tracks that would sound at home playing over the opening credits of The Hills.

Which is not necessarily a bad thing. The ambitious singer is clearly shooting for superstardom—and with entertaining outings like this, she may well get her wish. When, on “Dance in the Dark”, she shouts out the likes of Princess Diana and Marilyn Monroe, it’s not entirely impossible to imagine her achieving that level of fame. In the end, Gaga’s hero Madonna explains her appeal best: “I can see that she has that ”˜It factor.’ It’s nice to see that at a raw stage.”

Download This: “Bad Romance”