Lady Gaga typically produces incredible albums, curating the perfect mix of pop, rock and emotions into her music. So when she released her newest dance-pop album, Mayhem, on March 7, though I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect, I knew I was in for an experience.
Gaga begins the album with a bang, opening with “Disease.” This track was released on Oct. 25, as the lead single of Mayhem, posing a great combination of an upbeat vibe with aggressive vocals and instrumentals. The catchy nature of this song set the tone for the remainder of the album and as a listener, left me wanting more.
Continuing the upbeat and fast-paced vibe, the album moves to “Abracadabra.” “Abracadabra,” in some ways, is similar to “Disease” but brings more fun into the album, with escalating instrumentals and signature vocals. Right off the bat, “Abracadabra” was a hit, becoming Gaga’s fastest song to surpass 20 million streams on Spotify, according to Gaga Notify on X.
Through its lyrics, “Abracadabra” explores personal challenges for Gaga, highlighting the difficulties of overcoming darkness in terms of life and mental health.
Later in the album, in her collaboration with French DJ and Music Producer Gesaffelstein, “Killah,” Gaga explores a more bold, provocative beat. Gaga’s aggressive lyrics give her an intimidating presence and attitude, however, the song’s droning beat is creepy, and makes the tune sound too repetitive.
Throughout the album, Gaga explores the common theme of running from her emotions. This is especially evident in her singles, “LoveDrug” and “Shadow Of A Man.” When I first listened to “LoveDrug,” I expected a tone similar to Gaga’s previous hit, “LoveGame,” however this alternative/indie pop song was much deeper. Gaga expresses love as all consuming, something of a “drug” used as an escape for her.
Similarly, Gaga channels her emotions in “Shadow Of A Man,” exhibiting struggles with escaping darkness and finding self-worth. With the use of lyrics like, “Cause I won’t be used for my love and left out to cry,” Gaga truly conveys the value of embracing one’s self and power.
My all-time favorite track on Mayhem, “Die With A Smile,” released on Aug. 16, is a collaboration between Gaga and Bruno Mars. This track is an incredible combination of love and compassion mixed with the immense talent the two artists hold. For me, concluding the album on this song pulled Mayhem together, and closed it on a high note.
Mayhem is a great reflection of Gaga’s journey in music, blending the elements of her music in the past and present. The album is full of incredible songs like “Die With A Smile,” and “Disease,” but a few tracks like “Killah” were not as top-notch. So, next time Mayhem is playing on the radio, I’ll probably skip past a couple of songs, however it is definitely worth the listen.