Eclectic Mayhem: Gaga’s New Album Track-by-Track

Paige Bostic

Lady Gaga’s 2025 album, Mayhem, dropped at 11 p.m. on March 7, following the release of singles Die With a Smile, Disease, and Abracadabra. The viral singles swept the internet into a frenzy over the return of the ‘classic Gaga sound’ we’ve come to associate with the albums of our younger days, namely The Fame and The Fame Monster. But Mayhem is not just a return to classic Gaga, rather it is exactly what it presents itself as: an electrifying mixture of her past styles and an ushering in of new. An explosion of dance-pop, electronica, and even a Joanne-style ballad, Mayhem is unequivocally Gaga. 

It’s not easy to decide where this album would be most at home. Some songs are for walking home in the rain, some belong in repurposed Berlin warehouses turned techno dance halls, others belong in David Bowie’s underground in Labyrinth (1985). The most prevailing musical style in this album is reminiscent of 1980s synth-pop served à la Gaga, with some breaks here and there for groovier or Gaga-er tracks. 
​
I went into this album hoping that Abracadabra would set the tone for an album with tracks similar to past hits like Scheiße, Judas, and Swine, but found myself surprised with the direction it took. For me, the album was an overall success, but I felt there were some places where Gaga was holding back. Her homages to artists like Madonna, David Bowie, and Prince were exciting for me, yet on those tracks, I felt like something was missing. However, there were plenty of tracks that I felt were authentic to the Lady herself, specifically to her Fame era, with some pepperings of other earlier albums in between.

Read More