There could be no better title for Lady Gaga’s seventh studio album than Mayhem. Little Monsters will rejoice listening to this fantastic new collection, which brings together all of Gaga’s career-long influences and her different styles and themes into one wild, wonderful record. Featuring collaborations with Bruno Mars and Gesaffelstein, as well as production credits from acts like Cirkut and D’Mile, this is a return to Gaga’s roots with a fresh spin that takes her sound to all-new heights.
Thanks to Mayhem’s early singles ‘Abracadabra’ and ‘Disease’, Little Monsters may go into Gaga’s latest album expecting it to focus on the dark pop she’s proven she can do so well in the past. The record’s spooky gothic aesthetic furthers this idea. Costuming herself as an Edward Scissorhands lookalike in the ‘Disease’ music video, and portraying herself behind a shattered mirror on the album cover, Gaga has built the Mayhem visuals within a world of horror movie pastiche and brutalist designs.
But if the name didn’t already clue you in, Mayhem will never go in the direction you anticipate. These two previously released tunes kick off the album with a bang, pulsating with their irresistible choruses and fierce, gritty production. Then Gaga uses this as a bait-and-switch of sorts, suddenly dragging listeners into a much more chaotic, diverse sonic world.
Undeniably, this collection features some of Gaga’s greatest ever pop songs. ‘Garden of Eden’ is an immediate standout, with its brash, sassy line delivery and sexy approach to religious iconography. Depicting herself as a “poison apple” ready for her lover to “take a bite”, Gaga paints a picture of a wild night out ending in romantic ecstasy, complete with her trademark stuttered hook that makes every moment stick with you long after the song is over.
Similarly, ‘Perfect Celebrity’ is an incredible power pop track, addressing Gaga’s struggles with fame in a deliberately cynical and sarcastic manner. Her roaring vocal acknowledges the push-and-pull relationship she has with her fans. “You make me money, I’ll make you laugh”, she snarls, her voice positively dripping with attitude. Longtime Little Monsters will appreciate the super deep cut lyric in the second verse referencing ‘Princess Die’, an unreleased tune from the cult classic Artpop era which compares our favourite pop girl to royal legend Princess Diana.
Much of Mayhem hones in on an impressively slick 80s sound that pays tribute to Gaga’s frequently cited influences like Michael Jackson, David Bowie and Prince. The groovy guitars and polished, driving basslines on songs like ‘Vanish Into You’ and ‘LoveDrug’ give them a strikingly timeless quality. It’s impossible to listen to these numbers without moving your hips.
‘Shadow of a Man’, which was first teased at the end of the Gaga Chromatica Ball film last year, especially stands out for its thrilling production and fast-paced rhythms. The chorus is an absolute rush, where Gaga celebrates her journey rising up through the male-dominated music industry with a sense of joy that simply radiates through every lyric. It’s one of the album’s best examples of the happiness she’s found in her personal life, something that injects spirit into the entire album.
The record also offers plenty of sexy, seductive tracks, like the slow jam ‘The Beast’, which calls back to the iconic fan favorite ‘Monster’ from 2009. Here, Gaga’s vocal tone is dark and smoky, selling every line with a desperation that nicely contrasts the album’s typical theatricality. ‘Killah’ tackles a similar theme, but this time, with sugar poured all over. It’s relentlessly groovy, bursting at the seams with a nostalgic playfulness that also appears on the unforgettable chanted chorus and tongue-in-cheek metaphors of ‘Zombieboy’. All of this vocal exploration is perhaps the standout feature of Mayhem across the board.
Plus, if Gaga’s return to her shamelessly disco-pop sound wasn’t enough, she also offers up a new direction and toys with lighter synth pop on the unavoidably Swiftian ‘How Bad Do You Want Me’. This track is much more bubblegum than her usual direction. It’s fascinating to hear Gaga in this way, as she muses on the beginnings of an intense will-they-won’t-they relationship.
Prior to Mayhem’s release, the Bruno Mars collaboration ‘Die With A Smile’ might have seemed at odds with the rest of the album’s aesthetic, so much so that it was rumoured to be an extension of Gaga’s Harlequin persona adopted for Joker: Folie à Deux. But by the record’s end, it feels like a beautifully natural conclusion. The duo’s vocals weave together seamlessly with such beauty and depth. The soaring emotion in this song leaves Gaga profoundly emphasising what has become the album’s thesis statement — We have to live life to the fullest at all times, because we only have so much of it to live.
Mayhem miraculously brings together the weirdness of Artpop, the darkness of The Fame Monster, the glam rock of Born This Way, the power ballads of Joanne, the emotion of Chromatica and the disco funk of The Fame. It is a true love letter to Lady Gaga’s decades-long career, and to her devoted fans, who will surely consider this a stunning return to form. Put your paws up and expect the unexpected, because Mayhem may very well be Lady Gaga’s best record to date.
