‘Mayhem’ review: Gaga’s devilishly camp retrospective on her career and the cost of fame which will leave “Little Monsters” more than satisfied

“Monsters” rejoice! Just when we needed it most, Mayhem is here. Upon its announcement and the release of its lead single ‘Disease’ last October, Lady Gaga’s newest project became one of the most anticipated releases of the year, promising to take us back to her electropop roots her earliest fans fell in love with over 15 years ago. Mayhem, however, does more than just that. It doesn’t just harken back to the sound which ascended her to the top of pop music at the start of her career, but reflects her career in its entirety, complete with all the peaks, troughs, risks and bold swerves in genre which have helped cement Gaga as a truly once-in-a-lifetime artist. It is certainly an album which lives up to its name.

Mayhem seemingly has everything a “Little Monster” would want from a Gaga album. It is filled with deeply fan-pleasing, campy bops with infinitely catchy choruses and brash synths, hitting the ground running with UK top 10 hits ‘Disease’ and ‘Abracadabra’, followed by two of the album’s biggest standouts: ‘Garden of Eden’ and the flawless ‘Perfect Celebrity’. The joy, chaos, and ecstasy of a night spent out on the dancefloor are all conveyed exceptionally as Gaga explores the dizzying effects of fame and the struggle between the self and alter-ego in the spotlight. With playful metaphors and big electric hooks, whilst also being stacked with nods to her earlier career, which dedicated fans will certainly appreciate, these songs are a dazzling display of Gaga’s many strengths as an artist and songwriter. ‘Perfect Celebrity’, in particular, a song Gaga describes as the “most angry song about fame” she’s ever written, is a bold, tightly-written, rock-influenced banger with a chorus which will no doubt be screamed by fans at concerts around the globe – it stands out for all the right reasons.

[ Mayhem is ] an album full of experiments and surprises, which means you never really know what’s going to come next

The album’s momentum only picks up further with dips into funk, disco, and AOR with singles ‘Killah’, ‘Zombieboy’, and ‘LoveDrug’, all songs which refuse to be put into a box when defining genre – much like the artist herself. This is perhaps one of Mayhem’s greatest strengths: it’s an album full of experiments and surprises, which means you never really know what’s going to come next. Such a quality feels deeply authentic for an album concerned with looking back on a career in which every next move was unexpected and exciting. Gaga’s ability to explore, transcend, and blend different genres separates her from many other working artists today, and the album succeeds in reminding us of this.

This being said, there is a notable instance where such experimentation with sound and genre does fall slightly flat, with the Taylor Swift-esque “How Bad Do U Want Me”. In an album which feels so authentic to Gaga in every way, the song sticks out as one with heavy-handed influence from Swift’s melodic vocals and bubble-gum synth-pop sound, sounding as if it’s plucked straight from Swift’s 1989, Lover, or Midnights. In fact, the comparison is so strong, that many have speculated if Swift’s vocals actually appear on the song, awkwardly glaring out on Mayhem as something which almost feels like an attempt at imitation from Gaga – a sad criticism to have to make at an artist whose uniqueness and originality usually shines through in everything she does.

Mayhem is a release which is extremely enjoyable and deeply rewarding for fans

Despite this slight dud, the album finishes off strongly with a return to the stripped-back power ballads Gaga nails so well. ‘Blade of Grass’ is a touching and emotional reflection upon her engagement with fiancé Michael Polanksy, whilst the climactic Grammy-award winning ‘Die With A Smile’ is an appropriate and sweet ending with which Gaga “wanted the chaos to stop.” And so it does. Like Gaga’s life and career, the album begins with a heady whirlwind of pulsing, tempo-raising, electric beats, taking twists, turns and bold steps in unexpected directions before settling down as she finds stability in the love provided to her by the people around her and the chaos slows to a stop.

Mayhem is a release which is extremely enjoyable and deeply rewarding for fans. It feels like a crescendo in an extraordinary career which has touched the lives of so many people. As the name suggests, it’s chaotic, unexpected, and risky – but above all else, it’s fun. In its extremely catchy dance music hooks, which are already being proven as floor-fillers across the world, its genre-bending experiments with sound and its fan-pleasing retrospection, Mayhem is filled with fun, joy, and love. It feels like the finale to this era of Gaga’s life and career, and regardless of what she decides to do next, the curtain call is being met with a standing ovation.

Recommended Listening: ‘Abracadabra’, ‘Perfect Celebrity’ & ‘Killah’

★★★★

Listen to Mayhem here: