3.0 out of 5.0 stars
Fans of Lady Gaga have been patiently waiting for the pop-rock star’s return to writing music and as of March 7, they got it with the release of her seventh studio album, “Mayhem.” Gaga has resurfaced after a stint in movie stardom, where she was commonly considered the best part of two movies that didn’t do well critically. Her new album feels like 2000s pop music in the most Gaga way possible, despite some questionable musical curveballs thrown into the album.
While “Mayhem” pleases pop music listeners, the first song barely manages to get its foot through the genre’s door, much less knock it down. “Disease” speaks to tortured love and sexuality — topics Gaga has proven time and again to be her musical expertise — but the song’s lyrical repetition gets boring during the first listen. The chorus is two verses long and is repeated twice with a slight remixing of the lyrics’ order at the end. “Disease” only has two short verses that are distinctly different from the chorus’ lyrics. The song is an unnecessary refurbishment of “Bad Romance.”
“Abracadabra” was pre-released to market the album and follows up “Disease” with dance beats well-received by the roars of “Little Monsters” — what her devoted fans call themselves. The music video has exotic costume design and wacky choreography that proves Gaga hasn’t lost her spark for the strange. To follow through on the classic alienesque characterization of her musical persona, the chorus has words Gaga made up. Much like “Scheiße” in her album “Born This Way,” where she sings gibberish that sounds like German.
“Perfect Celebrity” stands out subject-wise on this album of songs about romantic upheaval and sexual fantasy. The listener finally gets a peek into Gaga’s celebrity psyche as an idol. Toward the end of the song, she sings “Save me I’m underground / I can’t be found / Hollywood’s a ghost town / You love to hate me.” In interviews, Gaga has always been refreshingly true to herself among celebrities that might shy away from being so bold — politically and emotionally. In this song, Gaga tells her experiences with unrealistic idolization of both Hollywood and herself, comparing herself to a plastic doll.
The middle of the album is complete with four romantic tracks that prove Gaga is going back to basics from her discography of dance-heavy beats and lyrics teasing sexual tension. “Vanish Into You” and “Zombieboy” are followed by “LoveDrug” and “How Bad Do U Want Me.” Gaga is a pop star and rock star truly deserving of both genre titles. These four hits are briefly interrupted by “Killah (feat. Gesaffelstein)” which delivers flatly on its lyrics and strikes an experimental funk beat.
In “How Bad Do U Want Me” she draws from 2000s Katy Perry and Taylor Swift, which could have upset fans, but ultimately Gaga does the genre justice. The lyrics of “Zombieboy” in particular are catchy, visual and infused with ’70s disco, which is perfect for her notoriously bewitching stage performances.
“Don’t Call Tonight” and “Shadow Of A Man” are an agreeable pair, partly because it is hard to tell when one ends and the next begins, but also because both explore the push and pull of desire for something that won’t end well. Her lines are sharp while overlaid with robotic background vocals that help to highlight her impressive vocal range.
Unfortunately, there is one song on the album completely out of tune with the tracks that make “Mayhem” an enjoyable listen. “Blade Of Grass” tries to slow down the tempo that has been built up thus far with cliche and boring storytelling. “Come on and wrap that blade of grass / Around my finger like a cast” are the first lines of the chorus the listener has been patiently waiting to get to, and they just don’t land. This song is a let down compared to the well-written lyrics of the songs that make up the album’s danceable energy.
The last song is “Die With A Smile,” which was first released in 2024 and is another bad choice, ending “Mayhem” on a ballad. Bruno Mars brings additional vocals in a duet with Gaga, their voices blending together seamlessly. While it is a beautiful melody, it doesn’t make much sense to close out the album because it was released so long ago. It doesn’t add anything new to the album and throwing it in at the end feels like a cheap decision.
“Mayhem” is an album deserving of its anticipation, and it is worth the listen for “Little Monsters” who have been waiting for Gaga to return revitalized to her electrically choreographed songs and sybaritic writing. While there are a few oddballs, they don’t indicate any sort of sweeping failure; after all, Gaga is known for embracing the outlandish.
