Rating – 4 stars out of 5
There are not many perfect albums in this world. By perfect album, I mean every song, every lyric is absolutely killer and leaves nothing on the table. There is no filler, there is no track that would be deleted off the playlist to make room for others. The problem is that in today’s society, the single has become more important than the album due to YouTube, Spotify and even radio play. So it’s exceedingly rare. Lady Gaga‘s 2008 release The Fame is an example of the perfect album. Every song, every beat, no waste and is a perfect pop album. But that was 2008, and we are sitting here seventeen years later taking a look at Gaga’s latest offering, Mayhem. Can we possibly get another perfect album? Let’s take a look.
Lady Gaga‘s last studio release (we’ll ignore the Harley stuff because a)I trashed it and b)most of it was not original material) was Chromatica in 2020. It charted pretty well, hit platinum, the whole nine yards but I felt that it was missing something. See, after Fame, Fame Monster, and Born This Way; I felt Lady Gaga had hit this pattern where she was playing it safe. She had hit completely mainstream, even done a few albums with Tony Bennett and while those were enjoyable, there was no envelope to push. An artist like Gaga needs to rile up someone, make people blush and be controversial. It’s the Madonna complex or finding new ways to shock your audience.
Mayhem was conceived as an industrial dance album with elements of disco, electro, funk and even some rock infusion. It calls on inspiration from Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, Prince and many other top notch artists to create what some would call a masterpiece. However, enough about the album, let’s dive into the songs.
Track 1: Disease (3:49) – Even though the song starts with an ominous hymn, it leads to some trademark electro pop Gaga beats and an absolutely fantastic and dark (but alluring) chorus. The tune never lets up except for a tiny bridge that builds back up to a roar and the chorus once again. This is a brilliant start to this album.
Needless to say, this song was released as the first single on the album and shot up the charts in the US and so many other countries. It has a video too with Gaga starting off in a suburban neighborhood after being hit by a car. Soon, Gaga is fighting off various personalities of herself (in different outfits naturally) throughout the video. Heck the MTV Music Video Awards, Japanese version even gave it an award for Best Solo Video.
Track 2: Abracadabra (3:43) – Not one to let up, Gaga drops her second single with Abracadabra which was more in line with the release of her album. As a result it reached number one in many countries including Poland, Lithuania, and domestically here as well. It’s another banger song, full of powerful beats and showing off more of Gaga’s voice than Disease. I’m not completely sold on the whole Abracadabra bit because it reminds me of Spellbound by Siouxsie and the Banshees. But hey, any Lady Gaga song that contains “Gaga” speak is alright in my book.
The video for this song screams much more as a dance performance type video rather than trying to tell a story. Gaga plays two versions of herself. One as an angelic dancer showing off her moves and other dressed in red silently looking over the situation unfolding before her. The two personalities eventually have a dance battle, because what else do conflicting personalities actually do?
Track 3: Garden of Eden (3:59) – DJ hit the lights! I love this song more and more every time I hear it. Pure disco and a ton of fun, it’s a side I’m not sure we have seen from Gaga since Just Dance. Very seventies’ style bridge in the middle as well, felt like it was something swiped off of Kylie Minogue’s playbook. On any other album this would probably be a single but this record is so stacked, it’s amazingly on the second tier of songs.
Track 4: Perfect Celebrity (3:49) – For those who were looking for the industrial, this song has it written all over it. Even Reznor would approve of this one. It’s hard, unrelenting and full of biting satire. This song feels like it dropped off an album like Generation Swine by Motley Crue or With Teeth by Nine Inch Nails. The closest you will ever see Lady Gaga to absolute hard rock.
Track 5: Vanish Into You (4:04) – Well, there was eventually going to be a point in this album where I found a song I didn’t like. Maybe it’s the beat change (slower) or Gaga’s voice being too “sing-song”, but I found myself only listening to this song a few times. Where as Garden of Eden grew on me with each playback, this one had the opposite effect. Can’t Stop the High was a much more fitting “5” track. Especially when the next song, Killah was behind it.
Track 6: Killah (3:30) – Prince anyone? Then this next song should fill that void, complete with a very funky guitar. I can honestly hear his voice in my head had this song been his. If only he were here still with us, surely Gaga would have reached out to him. Could you imagine? Anyway, this one has a fun bridge and outro to round out this fantastic song. One of the top 3 songs on the album for sure.
Track 7: Zombieboy (3:33) – If you really liked Monster off The Fame Monster album in terms of subject matter, this might be just the song you are looking for. Zombieboy starts off with a cheer chant (it comes back during the chorus as well) and keeps with the fun “monster” vibe throughout the three plus minutes. This is one of Gaga’s specialties when it comes to this subject matter. I wonder if she would ever consider a Halloween album. Heck, she has half a dozen songs already into such a compilation.
Track 8: LoveDrug (3:13) – A little more traditional of an offering (if there is such a thing). This has elements of eighties’ rock/synth pop and moves with a solid pace through the song. Imagine Sheena Easton or Pat Benatar and I think you’ll get an idea of the song. The shortest song on the album but is the right length given the tone and style. Very solid middle tier song.
Track 9: How Bad Do U Want Me (3:58) – This one is okay, but it doesn’t have any real clever hooks. It moves well, it doesn’t do anything to possibly define itself from anything else on the album. It hangs there and is rather forgettable. Truth be told, if this was the first tune I heard from Lady Gaga, I wouldn’t want her at all.
Track 10: Don’t Call Tonight (3:45) – This tune is a little better with solid movement and has more range of Gaga’s voice. The chorus sticks with the listener well and has enough interesting parts to go past an one and done effort. We get a Daft Punk style electronic moment as well near the end of the song. This would highly benefit from an extended dance type mix.
Track 11: Shadow of a Man (3:19) – This seems too similar to the past few selections and a song that would be placed on a Hollywood A Lister action movie end credits. It is not a bad thing, just very commercial and sporting a little bit too much polish. I need something raw, quick.
Track 12: The Beast (3:54) – While this is completely different from every song on this record, I do not like it one bit. For those who were missing Gaga’s at the peak of her power with a slice of the “Monster” vibe, this will probably do it for ya. But for me it falls completely flat, perhaps the last couple of songs will resurrect this downward slide.
Track 13: Blade of Grass (4:17) – This ain’t really it either. I want to like this song because again it shows Gaga’s range but the whole blade of grass and the church burning down and making it last doesn’t excite me one bit. At the three minute mark, Gaga almost sounds like she’s tired of the song too with the chorus belted yet again. This second half of the album has been rough, I’m not going to lie.
Track 14: Die with a Smile (4:11) – The final song with Bruno Mars is a fitting way to finish this album. It’s highlighted by Bruno’s amazing voice and reminds us of seventies’ style duets. The video sports the two in blue outfits singing in a studio. Bruno is playing the guitar and Lady Gaga can be seen smoking a cigarette with a beehive blond wig playing an electric piano. Those eyebrows and eye makeup are something else.
This sucker won a Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and was nominated for Song of the Year but lost to Kendrick Lamar. It hit number one pretty much everywhere and illustrates perfectly that when you put two powerhouses together such as Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga, you’ll usually come out with a dynamite song.
Lady Gaga Store CD Exclusive Bonus Song (also available in Japanese CD and various vinyls)
Track 5 (5-14 shifts down one step): Can’t Stop the High (3:31): Wait, this is a bonus song? Are you freaking kidding me right now? This is a hit, it’s a blend between hard rock and disco and it’s stuck on a special edition. Naturally, I picked up the bonus cd the minute I heard it but wow, it’s hard to believe a song this good will be so limited in its appeal because of distribution. I’m pretty sure the DJ will take this one home.
Target CD Exclusive Bonus Song (also available in HMV and JB Hi-Fi exclusives)
Track 11 (11-14 shifts down one step): Kill for Love (4:09): These bonus songs have no right being this strong especially when tunes like How Bad Do You Want Me & The Beast sit on the main album listing. Very solid disco tones in this one mixed with strong seventies’ sensibilities. Electronic singing also makes a comeback here which is wonderful in small doses.
In an era where physical copy sales are darn near non-existent, this album has soared in sales with ~136,000 copies in the first week alone. As mentioned during the breath of this review, I purchased two copies, the Target exclusive CD as well as the Store specific CD because of the two bonus songs were so darn good. Disease, Killah, Abracadabra, Garden of Eden and Perfect Celebrity lead the non bonus songs and are tunes that will stay on top of Gaga fans’ lists for a while to come. Shadow of a Man, The Beast and Blade of Grass keep this from being a perfect album but it’s still an excellent record. Easy recommendation here, and probably the third best album she’s done in my eyes. Enjoy.
