Lady Gaga’s seventh studio album, Mayhem, beautifully honors her past eras while introducing an entirely new goth-pop sound. Riding the success of her lead singles “Disease” and the infectious “Abracadabra,” Gaga prepared fans for the mix of nostalgia and chaos this new project would deliver.
Throughout Mayhem, Gaga pays homage to The Fame Monster, Artpop, and Chromatica with her signature synth-pop production—an approach rooted in her ever-evolving artistry. In an interview with Zane Lowe, Gaga reflects on being a student of music and how that curiosity continues to mold her sonic direction: “It’s like my way of thinking about music as being cross-genre—being able to combine lots of different things at the same time. That is who I am as a musician, and I’ve always been that way, and that is what Mayhem is all about. It’s like the mayhem of being a nonlinear artist, and with this album, I’m embracing that about myself instead of being like, ‘Okay, I have to fit it into this one thing.’”
This genre-defying mindset not only shapes the album’s sound but also sets the tone for darker themes. Across 14 tracks, Gaga delves into her desires and the havoc erupting in her mind, projecting haunting vocals. On the track “Garden of Eden,” for instance, Gaga embraces temptation in a nightclub. The lyrics suggest that the music is influencing her bad decisions. In the chorus, she chants, “I could be your girlfriend for the weekend / You could be my boyfriend for the night,” pleading for a one-night stand or a two-day getaway. With Gaga telling the DJ to hit the lights, early 2000s club culture also makes a comeback. The feel-good energy of this song easily positions it as a potential club banger and chart-topper.
Carrying on with the carefree vibe, “Perfect Celebrity” makes a more rageful shift. With a 90s grunge rock style, Gaga melodically sings in the chorus: “So rip off my face in this photograph (Perfect celebrity) / You make me money, I’ll make you laugh (Perfect celebrity) / Show me your pretty, I’ll show you mine / You love to hate me, I’m the perfect celebrity.” The playfulness that exudes from this track alludes to Gaga making a mockery of the pressures of fame. She acknowledges that the music industry is full of give and take, as her image is constantly being taken from her. Also, the way Gaga eats down on this song, it’s guaranteed to be stuck in your head.
When Love and Lust Collide
The next four songs in the lineup, “Vanish Into You,” “Killah” with Gesaffelstein, “Zombieboy,” and “LoveDrug” contain Gaga’s gothic dreams as she seeks to dominate the person she’s pursuing. The titles are misleading, though, as one could easily mistake the songs for being wicked. But it’s the opposite. They all have a heavy 70s-inspired disco beat that makes it impossible not to get up and move as soon as they play. She sure passed the retro vibe check with those dance hits.
Things start to slow down with the next round of tracks, “How Bad Do U Want Me” and “Don’t Call Tonight,” as Gaga loses her patience with her love interest. These two tracks are still danceable, but they have a sad undertone. Referring back to the hookups mentioned in earlier tracks, she now questions his desire for her, as she longs for a more meaningful connection. Those two tracks are extremely relatable for the fellow lover girls out there.
The relatability doesn’t stop there because Gaga becomes more assertive and demanding. She reclaims her power as the album nears its end as she refuses to be overshadowed by men. With “Shadow Of A Man,” she blasts through the speakers as she yells out: “I don’t wanna fade into the darkness tonight/ Show me the light/ I don’t wanna be the one to fall on the knife/ To come alive.” Following that is “The Beast” with its thumping rhythm, mimicking a heartbeat or raindrops. On that track, she powerfully sings: “You can’t hide who you are, 11:59/ Your heart’s racing, you’re growling, and we both know why.” She feeds into werewolf folklore with that one, requesting that her partner reveal his true self after she emerges from her alter ego’s shell. Overall, the lyricism of those two songs is mind-blowing.
To end this perfectly constructed body of work, Gaga pours her heart out to her fiancé, Michael Polansky, on “Blade of Grass.” On that heartfelt piano ballad, she reminisces on how he proposed to her: “You said, ‘How does a man like me love a woman like you?’ / I said, ‘Hold me until I die and I’ll make you brand new.’” It’s so beautiful it’ll make you shed a tear. Then, the last track is the Grammy Award-winning “Die With A Smile” with Bruno Mars, which signals a happy ending with love.
Lady Gaga truly reinvented herself with Mayhem, further solidifying her place as the queen of pop. On each track, she continues to prove that she is a vocal powerhouse and innovator of sound. From mastering the industrial pop tempo to being transparent about her struggles with keeping up a persona, Gaga offers a masterclass on how to adapt to the times while being authentically her futuristic self.
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