Lady Gaga, “MAYHEM.”

Don’t let the title fool you. Lady Gaga is the most grounded she’s been in the entirety of her career. Her seventh album, Mayhem, explores themes of chaos and transformation, as well as showcasing the return to her dance-pop roots. It’s her most personal album, drawing on influences within her own songbook as well as others.

Since release of the underappreciated Chromatica in 2020, Gaga has been busy. She made a second collaborative album with the late Tony Bennett (2021’s Love for Sale) and contributed to the “Top Gun: Maverick” soundtrack, the latter garnering an Academy Award nomination. She also starred in the panned “Joker: Folie à Deux,” emerging from the blunder unscathed.

Mayhem leads off with single “Disease,” a dance-pop track layered with heavy, foreboding electronic undertones. While it delves into the darkness of facing inner demons, its lyrics are tinged with morose optimism: “Bring me your disease, I can cure your disease/ If you were a sinner, I could make you believe/ Lay you down like one, two, three/ Eyes roll back in ecstasy/ I know all your secrets, I can cure you,” she sings.

“Abracadabra” is campy Gaga. It opens with the signature vocalizations that call back to her earlier work. The chorus also offers nonsensical wordplay of 2009’s “Bad Romance.” As with Born This Way’s “Judas,” it doesn’t;t take itself seriously. Then on “Vanish Into You,” Gaga channels Blondie with a four-on-the-floor rhythm that’s rooted in funk. The track explores merging identity with a partner’s to insulate from emotions.

Featuring French DJ Gesaffelstein, “Killah” has a funky rock beat and electronic percussion. While Gaga’s vocal intonation on the verses sound as if Alanis Morissette sang Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Californication” (but faster), the rest of the track recalls David Bowie. Gesaffelstein’s vocalizations imitate the Thin White Duke perfectly and the guitar licks sound like an homage to those in “Fame.”

“Zombieboy” has a vocal style similar to Gwen Stefani’s on “Hollaback Girl” and relies on four-on-the-floor electronic percussion. While it’s a dance track, its outro takes a detour with 1980s power ballad synth chords. It’s about facing the reality of waking after a late night on the town. Also a dance track but without the heavy electronic production, “LoveDrug” offers a rock beat more in line with 2016’s Joanne, with themes of love as never-ending addiction to escape loneliness.

Similarly,“Shadow of Man” is reminiscent of “Telephone,” Gaga’s 2011 collaboration with Beyonce. It has a beat comprised of funk, electro-pop, and rock. Gaga has said it’s about being the only woman in a room full of men; a critique of her industry.

The pop-rock of “Perfect Celebrity” is rooted in the 1990s with a touch of 1980s synths and reverb à la The Cure. Its industrial sound is reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails and others. With snarky lyrics directed at the music industry and herself—”I’ve become a notorious being/ Find my clone, she’s asleep on the ceiling/ Now, can’t get me down/ You love to hate me/ I’m the perfect celebrity”—Gaga is on the attack. This is easily the strongest cut on Mayhem.

Drama drives the electro-pop of “How Bad Do U Want Me.” Here, Gaga challenges a partner’s idealization of the “good girl” as existing only in his mind and presents herself as a real alternative. Her vocals and harmonies recall Taylor Swift.

“Don’t Call Tonight” harkens back to The Fame, The Fame Monster and Born This Way. Like other cuts, it employs four-on-the-floor rhythm with a splash of production values similar to 2014’s ARTPOP. It’s about discouraging a partner from calling for a meaningless hookup. Elsewhere, Gaga plays the serpent tempting Eve on electro-pop banger “Garden of Eden.”

“The Beast” deploys a reverb similar to that of Phil Collins and Tears for Fears in the ’80s. It’s a mellower tune compared with the album’s other material, but its beat still has a desperate, frenetic energy. A genre-bender, the song goes through the transformation of the beast it depicts.

Piano tune “Blade of Grass” also calls back to the ’80s, specifically soft rock balladry and power pop, using synths under the chorus. Clearly inspired by her fiancé, Michael Polansky, it’s a sweet love song. “Come on and wrap that blade of grass/ Around my finger like a cast/ ’Cause even though the church burned down /I’ll be your queen without a crown,” she sings.

Mayhem concludes with lead single “Die With a Smile,” her collab with Bruno Mars that’s already won a Grammy (Best Pop Duo/Group Performance). Blending pop, soul, country and rock, the duo’s vocal styles are equally matched.

Some physical copies of Mayhem contain bonus track “Can’t Stop the High.” The album has a little bit of everything and stands as one of Gaga’s strongest releases. Future releases may not be as steeped in nostalgia, but Lady Gaga is one of few who can pull it off successfully.