The singer’s latest album sees her re-exploring the sound of the early days of her career to delightful effect.
This dance-pop infused album from Lady Gaga thrills and delights in many ways as she re-visits the tone of her earlier career, that showcases the fact she hasn’t lost her ability to create plenty of theatrical music.
From album opener ‘Disease’ which sets the tone automatically, all the way through to numbers such as ‘Killah’ there is a self-assuredness to the album that sweeps the listener away on this unpredictable musical journey. It is songs such as these that capture just how Lady Gaga is incredibly creative with her music – and potentially thinking ahead as to how to perform them live (which given the scale of the music available to listen to here is incredibly impressive).
But what is also clear on this bold release is just how versatile her voice is and how she is willing to push it to the very limits. Yes there is help in terms of the production, but listen to the depth of her range on ‘Abracadabra’ or the wistful soulfulness on ‘Blade of Grass’, there is a level of care and attention to each track that is impressive.
Throughout it all, ‘Mayhem’ is an album that flows well structurally but it also has a hint of bite to it that makes the listener sit up and pay attention. In particular, just listen to ‘Perfect Celebrity’ which focuses on the realities of fame and the conflict it can have on life, while ‘Vanish into You’ has a bit of a gothic side to it musically that is intriguing – but also bears similarities to the tracks on her debut album ‘The Fame’.
But this is not purely a chance to re-visit the past, you get a sense that Lady Gaga is using the past to forge something new and still distinctly her – which can be heard on tracks such as ‘Garden of Eden’ and ‘Zombieboy’ – both of which are vibrant and distinctive.
While the first half of the album pulsates with energy, the latter half does begin to take it down a notch, to change the tone drastically as shown on ‘The Beast’ and ‘Die With a Smile’. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is a surprise when contrasted with the bold way in which the album began.
Overall, ‘Mayhem’ has been designed to be crowd pleaser and it certainly works extremely well, with many songs destined to ensure that you want to get up onto the dance floor. A great album to enjoy.
By Emma Clarendon
Mayhem is available to buy and download now.
Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️