Lady Gaga releases new studio album MAYHEM
Elena Hernandez - Music Editor
On March 7th, Lady Gaga released her newest album, MAYHEM. Much anticipated by her fans and the media, the record contains fourteen tracks.
Its first single, not counting the #1 hit “Die With A Smile,” is “Disease.” The track received some mixed reactions amongst fans and peaked at #27 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Some critics described it as her “best in a while,” and others felt its songwriting was “cliche” and uncreative. The track’s production and Gaga’s vocal performance were some things most critics praised in their reviews. It’s best described as industrial with a rock twist; all the while electropop remains Gaga’s modus operandi.
In retrospect, the track acted as a MAYHEM sleeper cell of sorts, which became apparent a few seconds into the record’s second single and track “Abracadabra”. Gaga sings “cast[ing] your spell on the night.” Interpolating Siouxsie and the Banshees, the listener is hypnotized by the time we hear the chant that is its chorus: “Abracadabra, amor-ooh-na-na / Abracadabra, morta-ooh-ga-ga.” It’s an explosive track that incorporates dance-pop and house. DIY, a United Kingdom-based music publication, wrote in their review: “'Abracadabra,' is an unrestrained dancefloor anthem that takes us straight back to her The Fame Monster days in the late 2000s.”
I have a few personal favorites from the record. “Perfect Celebrity” sounds like it’s straight out of a 2000s high school hallway, soundtracking your coming of age. Gaga said it was “probably the most angry song” on the album. She declares, “I’ve become a notorious being” and critiques fame and celebrity culture.
“Zombieboy” begins with a cheerleader-like chant, incorporating disco and funk elements. “Killah” is my #1 pick overall from the whole record and one of my favorite Gaga songs in recent years. It’s a collaboration with the French producer Gesaffelstein. Inspired by Nine Inch Nails, it’s an electro-funk, industrial banger. Gaga portrays herself as a femme fatale and repeats, “I’m a killah, and boy, you’re gonna die tonight/ Oh, killah, killah, killah.”
MAYHEM debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, making it her seventh album to reach the top of the chart. It debuted at #1 in 21 countries total.
