God (commonly known as Lady Gaga) provided her disciples with new fodder on March 7, with the release of her most recent feature-length album, “MAYHEM.” Following a lengthy bout of making music for motion pictures such as “Folie à Deux,” “,” and “A Star is Born,” we have finally received 53 minutes and 11 seconds of pure genius, at a time when we have needed Lady Gaga the most.
“MAYHEM” opens with two songs pre-released as singles: “Disease” and “Abracadabra.” “Disease” was our first teaser into the world of “MAYHEM,” and in her lyricism, Miss Gaga almost speaks directly to those of us who feel a significant lack of unique creativity, claiming that she can “cure your disease” above an iconic dance-pop beat. Still, there is an uncanny darkness to Gaga’s performance, especially heightened by the visuals of the music video to the aesthetic introduction to the album.
In a blend of discotheque and house strut, “Abracadabra” ties back to Lady Gaga’s club-pop energy from the “Born This Way” days through this high-energy and eclectic song. Not only is the song perfect for practicing your runway walk, but the vocals are simultaneously kooky and graceful. Gaga explores the range of expression from playing with chanted syllables and language to aria-like singing. Again, the music video solidifies a very public statement: Mother Monster is back, and she’s here to shake up the pop world.
“Garden of Eden” had a hard act to follow, but somehow, this album lives itself up again and again. While this song has lightened up on the strong rhythms heard previously, it is still present and is the key to creating the easily chanted lyrics that make this track so memorable. After admitting her hesitance to return to dance-pop, it is so obvious that she is at home in this style of music, “I’ve been feelin’ this familiar feeling / like I’ve known you my whole life.” Through her music video visuals and lyrics, the picture of Lady Gaga battling different versions of herself through her extensive career becomes clearer by the third track.
I personally believe “Perfect Celebrity” is a message to pop fans who still can’t quite get behind the blatant weirdness that most people associate with Lady Gaga. Entering with a slower instrumental and pretty normal vocals, Gaga launches into an emotionally charged chorus with an edgier flavor of strings and percussion to critique the public perception of her fame. Gaga has often served as the perfect celebrity for those who love her to cling to, and for those who treat her like a public display to take a piece of her during every performance. The general public can love to hate her, but in her time of recessing from the pop scene and dipping her toes into motion picture soundtracks and jazz, she has developed a self-assurance to return to her role as a pop icon and continue to create some weird-ass art that we will gobble up.
I am also intrigued by how Gaga plays with facial expressions in the visual accompaniment to this album. In music videos, album art, and lyrics, there is an emphasis on the face and its relation to character through contortions, makeup, and costuming. After all, Lady Gaga’s face has been scrutinized for as long as she’s been in the public eye. The duality of man, and darkness versus light have always been themes in her music, but I’m beginning to see that there is an embracing of Gaga’s own duality within herself in this album.
We all contain darkness and lightness, and with the darkness can be a resistance against our own shadow selves. Gaga explores this in “Vanish Into You,” a more balladic track on this album with gorgeous vocals. Singing of the desire to lose your shadow self in the goodness of another person, someone who may not be in your life anymore, “Vanish Into You” is equal parts beautiful and heartbreaking.
In contrast, “Killah,” featuring French producer Gesaffelstein, shows a little more of Gaga’s jazz experience. Swing beats, sassy vocal leaps, and a seductive hip-hop-inspired production all come together to create a really fun track. I personally envision Lady Gaga in one of her iconic campy outfits strutting along a street, men ogling and cat-calling, sights set on some poor feller who has no idea what he has coming.
“Zombieboy” was teased very shortly in the “Disease” music video, which was released prior to “MAYHEM”. This song again brings back Lady Gaga’s sexual prowess through her trademark references to monsters. Gaga requests that her zombie boy puts his “paws all over me,” which is a callback to previous works in which she uses “paws” to reference hands, especially noticeable in “Born This Way,” and “Monster,” and has remained in the linguistic repertoire of her fan base. “LoveDrug” is an easy followup to “Zombieboy” and fits within the album’s theme of “dance or die,” referenced in the music video for “Abracadabra.” This pulse-pounding dance track doesn’t exactly have too many notable creative liberties that make it stand out on “MAYHEM,” but it is still a very well-executed song.
“How Bad Do U Want Me” is an ‘80s-inspired pop track that almost bleeds into a ballad. This song somewhat reminds me of some of Taylor Swift’s “1989” tracks, but done by an artist with a level of depth and personal fallibility that in my opinion, Miss Swift simply doesn’t deliver. Gaga’s “bad girl” reputation serves her well in setting them apart. I think this song will do numbers on the radio, especially as its lyrics fit into the themes typically more suited to broadcast.
“Don’t Call Tonight” is a heart-wrenching pop song featuring a catchy guitar riff, dance-pop energy, and post-breakup lyrical content. Lady Gaga has a knack for placing sad messages in relatively upbeat songs, something she successfully does on this track. Following this is “Shadow of a Man,” a faster-paced track showcasing the vocal abilities of Lady Gaga in an R&B fashion mixed with her heavy club influence. Lyrically, this song touches on patriarchal values of being safe within the protection of a man. It’s hard to tell if she is able to be herself in this shadow, or if it is a means to guard oneself against the harshness of public opinion toward women — one where her true potential is limited.
“The Beast” sounds a lot like “How Bad Do U Want Me,” but much slower and more dramatic with the absence of ‘80s synth. This song is sexy and intimate, but I think it would have been better suited to follow “How Bad Do U Want Me,” in terms of flow. They complement each other very well while retaining very similar lyrical themes. “The Beast” is a much slower song, perfect for your erotic sexy-time playlists.
“Blade of Grass” is a standout song on this album, despite having the fewest streams on Spotify. What makes this song captivate me is its fairytale theme, a departure from what we usually get from Lady Gaga: dark versus light, uncanny and jerky choreography, and campy and monster-related visuals. Here, we see her stretching her legs into her more recent experiences with movie soundtracks; this song is fit for the ending credits of a romantic drama.
The final track, “Die With a Smile,” features Bruno Mars and was initially released in August 2024. Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga both have voices that are familiar and beloved by a generation that grew up on 2000s pop music, so there is a comforting aspect to this duet of unconditional love. While this song is very well produced, I would have been satisfied with ending the album with “Blade of Grass.”
Overall, “MAYHEM” is essential listening for anyone who grew up listening to Lady Gaga in the era of “The Fame Monster” and “Born This Way”. The only track remotely worth skipping is “Die With a Smile”, and that’s only because it has been released for just over six months now and is presumably stuck in all of our heads already. Even if you didn’t enjoy Lady Gaga in her younger years I believe there is something on this album for everyone. For the die-hard Monsters and those who are looking for something fresh amid copy-and-paste pop claiming to fuel your nostalgia, return home to our Mother on “MAYHEM”.
