Since her debut in 2008, Lady Gaga’s success has spanned from her breakthrough album, The Fame, all the way to her most recent album. Throughout her career, Gaga has been known for her artistic, modern style, combining dance-pop with her own exclusively ‘Gaga’ electronic and eccentric flair. On March 7, 2025, Lady Gaga released the album Mayhem. Mayhem consisted of eleven original new tracks as well as “Die With A Smile feat. Bruno Mars.”
Throughout the album art and visuals, Gaga utilizes an almost exclusively achromatic color story. The Mayhem album art and videos visually employ static, distortions, smears and other alternative photo effects. Gaga uses these elements to achieve a modern, yet dark avant-garde aesthetic, almost reminiscent of German expressionist cinematography (Think The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari or Nosferatu) or, more modernly, mirroring witch house visuals. These effects create the contemporary and edgy end product that is exclusive to Mayhem as we know it.
The music of Mayhem combines classic Gaga artistic electropop with some pronounced industrial and new-wave influences, particularly in the song “Abracadabra.” Additionally, the use of choir and Latin lyrics in the track creates a thoroughly cathedral-esque and gothic tune. Mayhem is lively, yet uniquely profound and mystifying in the sense that listening to the album feels like a rave in an empty cathedral.
Personally, my two favorite tracks from Mayhem are “Abracadabra” and “Zombieboy.” I adore the edgy vibe of “Abracadabra.” I believe this song was a club classic before it even hit the radio. It is so danceable and upbeat, yet deep and mysterious. This song has an unsettling and odd sound that is otherwise rare on today’s charts. It is so unique yet unifying for listeners, reflective of the character of Lady Gaga herself.
My second favorite track on the album is “Zombieboy.” I first heard this song at work when my coworker, a Lady Gaga fanatic, suggested the album to me. Listening to “Zombieboy” felt like a wave of energizing nostalgia. The track is a blend of funk and disco that simultaneously sticks out and perfectly fits into the album. Like others on the album, this song combines its funky rhythm with gloomy lyrics.

To me, “Mayhem” is a spectacular throwback to the sound of “The Fame” and other early works. Listening to this album filled me with the same amazement that I felt listening to “Born This Way” in my mom’s car for the first time as a kid. I am eager to see what else Lady Gaga has in store for this new period of her career.