There’s always been a disconnect between Lady Gaga’s outsized visual presence and the fairly safe club music of her first album, The Fame. The transitional EP The Fame Monster closed that distance considerably, and on her sophomore full-length, Gaga’s musical ambition finally catches up to her persona. Born This Way is a grand statement of purpose that’s unapologetically theatrical and calculated from the first note to the last, the kind of album that could only come from someone who proudly states, “I prefer a giant dose of bullshit any day over the truth.” Subtlety and introspection have no place in Gaga’s world; it’s all brazen sloganeering (“We’re all born superstars,” “I’m on the edge of glory”) and arch, absurd sentiment (“I’ll die living just as free as my hair,” “She’s got a rainbow syrup in her heart that she bleeds”), seemingly conceived with future stage shows and music videos in mind. Gaga’s commitment to her concept is strong enough that even when she stumbles—as she does repeatedly on Born This Way, particularly lyrically—she does so with panache, purpose, and a sly wink.