"On her sixth album, pop's queen of the dramatic reinvention did something more shocking than meat dresses and humanoid motorbikes: Lady Gaga looked back. Unlike the smooth tech-house flavour of its predecessor Chromatica, and diametrically opposed to the dinner jazz of her work with Tony Bennett, on Mayhem she returned to the operatic electroclash that powered her first two albums. There are synths that sound like a Dyson on its last legs."
"The broadening of her music on Artpop (2013) and Joanne (2016) hadn't played well with the public, and while her acting and soundtrack recordings for A Star is Born were superb, her similarly ambitious work for Joker: Folie a Deux badly flopped. The Bennett duets had charm played so incredibly straight that they were almost subversive but they were gooey, not gaga."
Mayhem marks a deliberate return to operatic electroclash, reviving synth-heavy, glam-inflected textures and trashy guitars that recall early albums while rejecting the smooth tech-house of Chromatica and the dinner-jazz collaborations. The album layers abrasive synths, provocative guitar work and playful baby-talk hooks that allude to past hits while amplifying theatricality. Prior stylistic broadening and several commercial setbacks prompted a central brand realignment, but the record avoids simple replication of recent mainstream duets. The creative process involved an extended period of rediscovery after years of experimentation, aiming to reclaim raw electronic drama and dramatic reinvention.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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