NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� She hath returned: A new like the old Lady Gaga, but a different Lady Gaga.
鈥淢ayhem,鈥� released Friday, is a satisfying full-length project of big pop material, both a return to her roots and a hard press on the gas pedal.
Her 2008 debut 鈥淭he Fame鈥� introduced a new generation to the addictive properties of expertly crafted electropop. 鈥淭he Fame Monster鈥� a year later cemented her position as a modern great, a savior of theatrical pop that once recalled Madonna and now serves as a reminder that big belts are cinema. Then came the genre explorations of 鈥淏orn This Way,鈥� 鈥淎rtpop,鈥� 鈥淛oanne鈥� (arriving 鈥� she has long been prescient), and
Half a decade later, is the world ready again for her club anthems? Or is 鈥淢ayhem鈥� an attempt to revitalize a big pop sound left behind in the streaming era? Can an artist return home without playing some parody of themselves?
The answer, of course, is up to the listener. Some will hear 鈥淎bracadabra鈥� as life-affirming dance music. Others will press play on 鈥淜illah鈥� and balk at its Gesaffelstein-aided sound. They might read the earworm 鈥淒isease鈥� as a song that too easily recalls the mid-2010s of her heyday, but to do so would strip it of stadium-sized pleasures. It is a great song, a familiar song, a return to a classic Gaga. (And for what it is worth, there鈥檚 a lot more energy there than in power ballad 鈥淒ie with a Smile,鈥� her collaboration with Bruno Mars.)
The truth is, Gaga has reclaimed her early dark-pop sensibilities and ushered them into her 2025 reality across 鈥淢ayhem.鈥� It manifests in a few ways, most prominently in her delivery. Lady Gaga sounds like she is having fun here, from the modular Moog of the ballad fake-out 鈥淰anish Into You鈥� and the 鈥淏ad Romance鈥� easter egg of 鈥淕arden of Eden,鈥� to the springy synth of 鈥淧erfect Celebrity,鈥� which furthers Gaga鈥檚 quest to use fame to question fame鈥檚 legitimacy. Now that is timeless pop meta-commentary.
Autonomy was top of mind for Gaga on 鈥淢ayhem,鈥� and it鈥檚 yielded great results. 鈥淪omething that was really important to me on this was really taking from myself my own inventions,鈥� she told The Associated Press 鈥淚 was the creator. This was my work. It was just not a character I was playing. It was something that I made.鈥�
鈥淢ayhem鈥� will sound familiar to Gaga listeners, there's no doubt about that. But they will hear an evolved version 鈥� not an easy play at nostalgia, nor an artist appeasing contemporary trends. It is Gaga staying true to herself, as she has been known to do.
Maria Sherman, The Associated Press
