Score: 4/5
Pop music pioneer Lady Gaga has returned with her seventh studio album MAYHEM, a chaotic, anthemic examination of her career and impressive flex of her musical prowess.
With each of its tracks, MAYHEM throws a new handful of ideas at the wall, some of which land more than others. In the end, you’re left with a mosaic of ideas that hit the mark, while held back slightly by a few ideas that miss the mark. It’s mostly successful at honing Gaga’s strongest qualities, but it’s hard to avoid the few missed opportunities.
First of all, let’s get one thing out of the way: none of these songs fall short of three minutes and thank God for that. In the age of two-minute, bridge-less, post-chorus-less, built-for-TikTok-snippet pop songs, Gaga takes the wheel and offers fully realized, complete songs. There’s plenty of open space between choruses and verses to soak in the pop-maximalism here.
MAYHEM lacks the certain pulse behind Gaga’s previous albums that made them click. For instance, her previous 2020 release Chromatica had a vibrant, house-pop theme woven into Gaga’s fictional world with the same name. The string holding MAYHEM together is less firm and linear than her previous records, demanding attention to fully appreciate the effort she’s put in.
The first taste of the album comes from the first single and opening track “Disease,” which could very well be the best of the bunch here. It’s quintessential Gaga, harkening back to the larger-than-life vocal performances on choruses from Born This Way and the deep, harsh beats of ARTPOP. “Disease” feels like a night out with an old friend where you’re reminded of all the reasons you love them and bear witness to their growth over the years. It’s a career highlight and one of MAYHEM’s best cuts.
As the album’s second single and track, “Abracadabra” picks up the pace from the creeping bass of “Disease.” Overblown bass and synths, a throbbing acid beat teased across the track and a blaring vocal performance on the chorus that sounds more like an intelligible incantation than a coherent string of words (a trend across Gaga’s best songs) make this an overwhelmingly passionate, four-minute banger.
“Garden of Eden” and “Perfect Celebrity” are throwbacks in every sense of the word. They’re grimy, alluring tracks ripped directly from the early days of The Fame era in the 2000s. The former is a nostalgic, shameless tune reminiscent of her early songs that birthed countless Little Monsters — Gaga’s fan base — back in the late 2000s: impressionable kids permanently altered by the “Bad Romance” music video.
After an electrifying four-track run, the album begins to lose its edgy sound and adopts cleaner, groovy elements. “Vanish Into You” veers into ballad-territory blended with a throwback groove to its production. It’s familiar territory for Gaga and an amalgamation of the elements she does best, blending romance, impressive vocals and a sticky chorus engineered to ring in your head long after listening.
“Zombieboy” has probably spawned on every Halloween party playlist across the internet by now. It’s an eclectic, throwback banger with one of the album’s catchiest choruses: “Oh, I can’t see straight and my hands are tied / I could be your type from your zombie bite.”
MAYHEM’s biggest pitfall is, ironically, the lack of mayhem going on throughout. The most impressive tracks are lined up one after another in the first half, setting the tone for a gritty, high-energy experience. However, the energy progressively dwindles, shifting in tone to safer, approachable songs packaged as universally accessible tunes. The B-side tracks each lack a certain quirk integral to their identities. If the weaker tracks were shaved down, the front-heavy A-side would be much more effective as a shorter album.
As bizarre as it seems to have 2024’s radio-hit single “Die With a Smile” as the closing track, it strangely works here due to the ballad quality of previous tracks. MAYHEM’s chaotic musical evolution is tied up nicely with a romantic anthem to soundtrack any occasion: weddings, funerals, graduations… You name it and it’ll fit.
MAYHEM is the sort of album whose identity will be shaped by memories and time. It’s not quite as clear cut as some of Gaga’s previous work, but it revels in being unreadable. It’s meant to be soaked in, soundtrack the listener’s life and shape the landscape of pop music. Time will tell how this album is remembered, but as it stands, MAYHEM is already eager to live rent-free in your head.