In true return to form, Lady Gaga continues to create the experimental, edgy and endlessly catchy music that has garnered her icon status since the beginning of her career.
Featuring 14 songs, “Mayhem” enters a maximalist space of dark pop and disco beats, backed by powerful vocals and gothic lyrics. As the album plays on, Gaga seamlessly switches from cheeky innuendo masked with horror imagery in tracks like “Killah” to tales of unconditional love in “Blade of Grass.”
“Disease” and “Abracadabra,” released as singles, encapsulate the dark grunge aesthetic of this era of Gaga, concealing the album’s otherwise jubilant tones. A clear sign of a Lady Gaga megahit, “Abracadabra” has nonsensical Latin hidden in its lyrics, indicative of classic hits like French translations in “Bad Romance” or German gibberish in “Scheiße.”
Beloved by fans, “Mayhem” garnered instant classic status from little monsters — the common name for Gaga fans — everywhere. With her effervescent maneater persona, Lady Gaga delivers her on-brand sexiness taking you to her “Garden of Eden” with a classic club beat. In “Zombieboy,” 70s disco meets movie gore with lyrics like, “I could be your type; From your zombie bite.” Dubbed ‘Lady Gaga (Taylor’s Version)’ by little monsters, “How Bad Do U Want Me?” enters a realm of relatability and vulnerable lyricism commonplace in Swift’s repertoire.
Already a Grammy winner, “Die With a Smile” concludes the album. With fans unsure how “Disease” and “Die With a Smile” could ever be on the same record, Lady Gaga artfully constructs the transition from EDM to ballad pop necessary to maintain musical cohesion. She gets you there emotionally, baring her insecurities and wearing her heart on her sleeve, and she leaves you with a certified banger streamed over 2 billion times.
“Mayhem” is a highly self-referential album. On first listen, it is almost impossible to miss the similarities to Gaga’s previous works. Although it may be seen as unoriginal, with a discography as good as Gaga’s, who wouldn’t look to the past for inspiration? This album brings to the fore concepts and sounds that were under-appreciated in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Through the disco undertones of “The Fame,” the metal influence of “Born This Way” or the calm ballad pop of “Joanne,” Lady Gaga rehashes the underbaked areas of her catalog into a killer standalone record.
For the greater part of the 21st century, Lady Gaga has been a household name and a cultural powerhouse. From her numerous mega hits to her award winning performances, the multi-hyphenate has maintained relevance through unrelenting talent. With “Mayhem,” Lady Gaga shows no signs of slowing down as she continues a career of uncompromising excellence.