Dark Pop Prophecies: Lady Gaga’s MAYHEM Is a Vision of Eden
Little Monsters have long-awaited Gaga’s return to her pop roots.
Following the release of Chromatica back in 2020, she has spent the last few years lending her talents to other creative projects. MAYHEM, her seventh studio album, represents a homecoming for Gaga and the millions of fans ready to welcome her return with open arms and ears.
The eagerly anticipated first single from MAYHEM, Disease, perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the album. Her signature punchy pop blends with biblical lyrics and supernatural-esque vocals, drawing you into a hauntingly beautiful soundscape. Abracadabra takes the dance genre even further, a space Gaga has carved out perfectly. The industrial tone is frantically energetic enough that this could be the soundtrack to a packed and sweaty 2 am dance floor. The post-chorus is the first of many earworms that promise to find their way into your psyche.
It is easy to see why these two tracks were paired as singles, especially when their accompanying videos play in tandem. The dance-or-die theme taken literally in both, with Gaga portraying the protagonist facing alternate versions of herself in two very different scenarios. Both videos maintain the hallmarks of dark, gothic aesthetics, drawing inspiration from classic horror. The visualizer for Disease feels especially reminiscent in cinematic quality to her iconic 2009 Bad Romance video.
The final pre-album offering, Die With A Smile, in collaboration with Bruno Mars, earned the pair a No.1 spot on the US Hot 100 charts. In an interview with NME, Gaga said the harmonies were intended to sound “super 70’s”, influenced by love songs of the era and collaborations by the legendary Carole King and James Taylor. The result is a beautifully simple ballad that ends the album with a softer, more delicate energy.
The first new track, Garden of Eden, again pays homage to the biblical themes in a nonconventional way. The opening lyrics set the scene of a meeting of sorts on a dimly lit nightclub floor. The layered vocals surrounding the chorus, “I could be your girlfriend for the weekend, you could be my boyfriend for the night”, positions the subject of this song as a poisoned apple, a piece of forbidden fruit, with divinity and Eden waiting on the other side of a morally dubious decision.
Perfect Celebrity is a direct commentary on being a celebrity in the modern age, poking fun at how the mark of being famous today means people “love to hate you”. It highlights the polarising opinions that celebrities are constantly confronted with. Especially interesting to be viewed in contrast with the title track from her first studio album The Fame. Back in 2008, Gaga was drawn to the extravagant life of the ‘name in lights’ style rich and famous. Now she presents a hardened version of Hollywood, calling out the darker side of the seemingly shiny life she was longing for almost 20 years ago. “I look so hungry but I look so good”, a particularly striking example of the extremes those in the limelight often feel pressured to endure for the sake of maintaining the image of a perfect celebrity.
The second half of the album seems to continue this theme of challenging the narrative of reality with songs like The Beast making an intriguing reference to knowing “the beast inside”, and expecting to see the real side of someone without the “stage and lights”. Perhaps another commentary on the false reality and promises of fame, never truly knowing the real person behind the persona.
One of the standout tracks comes halfway through the album, with an unexpected change of style. Killah brings in the influence of French producer Gesaffelstein, known for his dark techno sound, which has earned him credits on work with The Weeknd, Daft Punk, and Charli XCX to name a few. Playful guitar riffs reminiscent of Prince’s Kiss blend ‘80s influences with modern and electronic elements. Zombieboy continues this ’80s-inspired sound. A snippet was sneakily teased during the Disease video, featuring disco-leaning bass beneath sparkly synth and impressive vocal runs. The pairing of LoveDrug and How Bad Do U Want Me follows, embodying a desperate kind of love. Longing for someone that you can’t quite call yours. The latter track diverges into more classic pop than is present on the rest of the record. Clean vocals and an opening synth-melody that would feel at home on a Taylor Swift record.
Speaking at Spotify’s Little Monster release conference, Gaga was asked the question of what inspired her to finally return to her signature dark pop. Giving an insight into her songwriting process, she explained how she goes method when making records, becoming characters through the music which tended to take her over completely. She admitted only making a comeback now “because it finally felt safe too”. Knowing her fans were eagerly awaiting her return to pop, but couldn’t put herself back into that world because for a long time it “felt like too much”. She triumphantly ended this response by saying ‘We’re okay now, bring it on’.
From dance music and biblical themes to Gaga’s raw, gritty vocals, MAYHEM isn’t just a return to form, it’s a declaration. A narrative on the chaos and frantic world of the industry, before making peace by slowing down, and befriending the versions of yourself you might not always have understood. Gaga is a master storyteller, even through the sparkly disco music and raucous production. Her talents may lead her down other artistic avenues, but the Little Monsters will always be ready to welcome Gaga home as the reigning queen of dark pop.
