Cover art photoshoot director: Frank Lebon
Lady Gaga is nothing less than an absolute icon and visionary, which is exactly why her newest album MAYHEM is a masterpiece. It debuted at number 1 in both the US and the UK, deservedly. Its a pop album that explores different subgenres in each track, which are more spellbinding than the last as you listen.
T R A C K L I S T
Disease
Abracadabra
Garden of Eden
Perfect Celebrity
Vanish Into You
Killah (feat. Gesaffelstein)
Zombieboy
Lovedrug
How Bad Do U Want Me
Don't Call Tonight
Shadow of a Man
The Beast
Blade of Grass
Die With A Smile (with Bruno Mars)
Lady Gaga has been a icon in the music industry for nearly twenty years. She was a breakout artist with her debut album The Fame, and since has sold out world tours and has shown everyone her endless talents, musical and acting wise, and her creativity and distinctiveness in the world of not just pop, but all kinds of music. She has countless hits and every album she releases is incredible. After The Fame, she released The Fame Monster and Born This Way, which skyrocketed her into becoming a music legend. She then released Artpop in 2013, yet another display of her talent and creativity. Since then, she has released two albums with jazz legend Tony Bennet, multiple soundtracks where she was the main artist featured, and Joanne and Chromatica.
Disease
MAYHEM begins with “Disease”, which was the electrifying second single of the album that left everyone practically spellbound. You hit play on the single, which already shows Gaga laying on the hood of a car in the cover art, and just mere seconds into it, you’re hit with this powerful bass-heavy synth that’s played over and over. Then, Gaga’s impeccable and iconic voice drops in, and you immediately realize you’re about to listen to album of the year. Or maybe album of the decade. Century? The greatest ever? The lyrics are expertly written, and truly match the direction that the extraordinary production is going in.
Abracadabra
You know you’re listening to a Gaga classic when she name drops herself in the lyrics; but that’s not the only way you can tell why “Abracadabra” became so popular upon its release. Not only did she debut the song and choreographic masterpiece of a music video during a Grammy’s commercial break, but just listening to “Abracadabra” makes you feel like you’re floating through space and time. The beat that drops after each chorus is teased in the beginning of the song, which sounds like something you’d hear at a rave along with a flurry of colorful laser beamed lights coming at you in every direction. Overall, this song is nothing less than absolute perfection.
Garden of Eden
“I’m falling over in my nine-inch heels” is a lyric in the first verse of “Garden of Eden”, and immediately sets it in stone that this song is nothing other than fantastic. There is a synth incorporated throughout the song with the volume of its bass turned all the way up and sounds reminiscent of an electric guitar. Then it turns into a more dance and disco-esque beat during the chorus, which ends off with slightly-spoken word from Gaga with the line “I’ll t-t-take you to the Garden of Eden”, which she defines as time spent with someone for a very short amount of time. Additional note: Gaga belting “C’mon” during the bridge was so beautiful.
Perfect Celebrity
The fourth track of Mayhem is “Perfect Celebrity”. Intertwined is a sci-fi-esque synth and a reverberated guitar in the production. Gaga’s vocals climb up octaves in the opening of the song, starting off low, and then getting significantly higher right before the chorus, and then becoming even more powerful during the hook. The lyrics tell the story of the “perfect celebrity”, something Gaga has explained in the past she has felt she had to be for many years. With all the attention she has received since 2008, and even before, her and many other celebrities have felt they need to fit into a mold, even if it damages their mental health.
Vanish Into You
More dance and disco can be found on “Vanish Into You”. Funky, upbeat guitar chords and transcendent synths make up the production, but not without Gaga’s vocals of perfection and immense talent. The way she easily switch octaves so effortlessly just shows she’s one the greatest singers. “Can I vanish into you?” feels like another way to say “I love you”. When you love someone so much you consider them your other half, and you feel like you’re both the same person. In the lyrics, Gaga explains how she’s living in the moment and that she can tell she has found the love of her life. Co-written by her fiancé Michael Polansky, this isn’t the only love letter on Mayhem.
Killah (feat. Gesaffelstein)
Another funky baseline is present on “Killah” featuring Gesaffelstein. The expression “La petite mort” is a summarization of the lyrics, and the line “I’ma be your full-time bedroom demon” tells you everything you need to know about this song. Another fun synth can be located on this song as well, unique and well thought out synths being a recurring theme on this album. This shows the certain pop and dance influence that have maintained on the album and how they have persisted so much, even only six tracks into MAYHEM. Particularly, “Killah” contains a mixture of genres, especially industrial rock, such as with the steampunk drums and bass guitar chords.
Zombieboy
The vibes from “Killah” make a seamless transition over to “Zombieboy”, except we are met with a very upbeat and fun production to carry this pop sound that has been curated within the album. This song is about meeting someone that you know is like no other. I think a song with the title “Zombieboy” with corresponding lyrics but having this 80s style of instrumentation is distinctly unique. Also, the songwriting, just like the rest of the album, is amazing and the use of metaphors for the lyrics of this track prove that. Gaga's vocals are astonishing, and it’s like she sings every line of the song differently, and the harmonies toward the end of the song are perfect.
LoveDrug
Metaphors are still being expertly executed in “LoveDrug”. Like the title, this track aptly is about being in love with someone so much it feels like you're addicted to a drug, and they are the drug. You just can’t get enough of this person, and you don’t even want to try to stop. However, this song goes deeper than just attraction. When you’ve been hurt in the past, and you finally find the right person that makes you feel safe and you know won't hurt you, you don’t want to let go of them. When they make you happy and don’t make you feel bad about the person you are, you just want to be by their side all the time. Love is very powerful in more ways than one.
How Bad Do U Want Me
“How Bad Do U Want Me” is Gaga showing a more vulnerable side to her romantic interest. They are attracted to what she is like on the outside, and as she puts it, a “bad girl”, which represents the passion in their relationship. However, she wants them to know she is also a “good girl”, someone who is in touch with romance and wants to do typical things in a relationship - essentially, romantic things a “bad girl” may not want to do or may not seem like she wants to do. Gaga is telling this person that they need to love every side of her, and not just the one they were initially attracted to. She needs to be with someone that knows the importance of a relationship and romantic gestures.
Don't Call Tonight
In “Don’t Call Tonight”, Gaga is trying to pull away once and for all from a toxic relationship. This person doesn’t treat her like she should be treated, and she recognizes this. She is stuck in a cycle that she wants to get out of, where she thinks she’s being loved and then is being mistreated interchangeably. While it has been difficult for her to remove herself from this relationship, she knows it can end if this person leaves her alone. She has to let go of this person in order for her to live her life, which involves this person letting go of her, too. She loves someone who doesn’t love her back, and for the cycle to end, the relationship needs to end as well.
Shadow Of a Man
Being a woman in any industry definitely has its hardships, as most are run and dominated by men. It seems like they are able to call the shots, while women have to hide in the background. Gaga, however, pushed past this, and was able to overcome ostracization and rampant misogyny in the music industry, an industry where men are constantly favored and praised, while women receive endless amounts of hate and criticism. She didn’t let anything stop her from achieving her dreams and rising to success. No matter how hard she’s been pushed down, she’s always been able to get right back up and do what she wants and what she loves.
The Beast
“The Beast” opens with a very unique production style. A classic 90s beat is drowned out by an 808, which intensifies in the chorus. When drums are added in, its like it becomes its own synth, which was a very creative and original idea by those who produced this track. Then, suddenly, an electric guitar appears, and the song turns into this powerful showstopping ballad. It sounds like an organ, which makes you feel like you’re watching Phantom of the Opera. Sonically, the production truly feels like you’re seeing “The Beast” come to life. This can’t be done without another display of Gaga’s insane vocal range, and overall insane vocal talent.
Blade Of Grass
The penultimate track is “Blade of Grass”, which starts out as a piano ballad. Then, once the chorus starts, the strums of a guitar are introduced. In the second verse, the powerful drums we’ve heard before are brought back. In the second chorus, a wobbling synth is added to the production. The production builds upon itself as the song advances, one of my favorite types of production styles, as well as many others' favorite. Although this isn’t the final track, it definitely makes sense why the track was placed toward the end of the album. “Blade of Grass”, musically and lyrically, is the hero receiving a triumphant victory. Overall, it’s a very beautiful song with a gorgeous melody.
Die With A Smile (with Bruno Mars)
We have reached the end of MAYHEM, and the last track is the album’s first single that has took over the world ever since it was released. The guitar ballad and declaration of true love with Gaga and Bruno Mars shows that two of the some of the most talented musicians and singers should have collaborated on a song years ago, and there’s every reason this track became as internationally acclaimed as it did. “Die With A Smile” is a “'till death do us part” love letter that expresses a never-ending unbreakable connection between two soulmates. Realizing you love someone so much that you can’t be apart or it would break you.
Like I said before, this is album of the year, and in my opinion, one of the greatest of all time. This album is absolute perfection. I have been a little monster since 2008, and even though I was only four, I knew what an icon was, and I could tell it was Lady Gaga. Seventeen years later, and that has still never changed, and definitely not now. Every time I listen to this album, which has already been a lot of times, I can't help but freak out. The production, the vocals, the lyrics - everything is just 10/10, no notes. Lady Gaga is a legend and MAYHEM only adds to that.
Written By Ashley Adams
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