Mayhem” is the love child of Mother Monster’s two most commercially successful albums, 2008’s “The Fame” and 2011’s “Born This Way.”

The Abracadabra singer is throwing it back to her early years on her new album. But critics can't seem to decide whether that's a good thing.

She dances on the line between clever self-referentiality and less inspired rehashing on her new LP, committing to the over-the-top excess that first made her a star.