Singers like Katy Perry almost feel like a fluke. In 2008, she gained mainstream attention with "I Kissed A Girl"and deliciously tomboyish album "One of the Boys." Much like Lady GaGa, the ambiguous lesbian lyrics somehow catapulted her into the spotlight and instead of defining her, just opened her up to bigger projects. In 2010, she made the transformation from the kitschy one hit wonder to a mainstream powerhouse with "Teenage Dream" that spawned five #1 singles, a concert movie (Part of Me), and the reassurance that there was more to her. The album was confident, roaring with energy and made her one of the biggest pop stars on the planet. With her latest "Prism," she attempts to justify her prominence in our culture by looking back at the past few years and setting it to some beats.
The album starts off strong with the reassuring single "Roar," in which she establishes her dominance. The song explains overcoming struggles in ways that would appeal to mass audiences. The chorus is loud and boisterous and almost sounds like a welcome return to a performer that has refused to leave the radio playlist for years now. In a way, the song is a little bit of a mislead, as what follows doesn't sound like a victory lap, but a reminiscing on regret, getting older, and coming to terms with her spirituality.
This is probably the album's biggest strength and helps to make the lyrics feel more personal. In the second song "Legendary Lovers," her attempt at becoming a one woman version of Bone Thugs N Harmony over some ambient music leads to one of the album's more striking and interesting songs. She explores range and pacing while singing/rapping (?) about concepts that clearly deal with her spirituality. Along with references to karma and third eyes, the chorus states "Say my name like a scripture/Keep my heart beating like a drum." It is the first of many insinuations of religious imagery on the album, including "Ghost" and the final song "By the Grace of God."
It is a strong start to the album, which also features "Birthday," a pop-infused song full of guitars, vocal hooks, and enough sugar to make it sound like a birthday cake. There is passion dripping from her voice and plenty of bravura around more sensual themes. It also expresses what makes Perry at very least an artist with an interesting predicament: she can take banal concepts and bring life to them. Besides the production, very little of the song feels fresh or new, and that may be the problem with the rest of the album.
After the first four songs when "Unconditionally" comes on, things begin to turn. The passionate, fresh sound that started off the album are slowly stripped away for something more familiar. The chorus of "Unconditionally" almost sounds like a boring vocal exercise and the lyrics aren't that fresh. The remaining part of the album seems to juggle between emotional and party themes, and neither work that well. Towards the end of "This is How We Do," Perry attempts to break the fourth wall by dedicating the song to people who probably shouldn't be spending money so frivolously.
That is the issue with Perry in general. While "Teenage Dream" managed to reach a point where her vocals worked with the production design, she hasn't really been the best lyricist. In fact, the issue with her in general is that her lines are often recalling cliches such as "I went from zero to my own hero" in "Roar." She can sell familiar lines with her voice that can play tender, but the lack of authenticity does make it hard to relate on a personal level. As "This is How We Do" suggests, she is doing these songs for an audience, and it shows that she doesn't exactly know how to be personal and be grasping at the same time.
It isn't true that Perry can't do a ballad. One of "One of the Boys'" bigger hits was "Thinking of You," which showcased her passionate range and featured production that built to emotional satisfaction. For the majority of the second half of this album, it feels like there is something missing. It is more stripped down and doesn't feature nearly as many air headed pop tunes. Instead, things get personal as she deals with divorce, new love, and acceptance. While the subjects are done with such vivacity, it doesn't do justice lyrically or vocally. Perry has evolved as a performer and can pull off a bigger range than what she has here, or at very least should have written the songs better to pull off conviction.
The production overall is solid, though the back half does feel very monotonous and too meditative. We get a sense of Perry being a great performer, but the delivery doesn't necessarily hold an impact in that way. Mixed with cliches, the moments that are supposed to hit just don't. They often feel familiar and the big ballads with the heavy choruses just sound like another love song on the radio. If Perry needed one thing to improve, it was the honesty in her lyrics.
In a way, "One of the Boys" feels like her most honest record to date. It was before everyone knew her and she played the Vans Warped Tour (yes, that happened). Even if she has outgrown the image of being tomboyish and more of a sex symbol who had a feud with Elmo on Sesame Street, there was a rawness to the album that suggested that while not perfect, had a lot to say and pushed gender politics in clever directions. Yes, vocally she got better and even her production has, but lyrically, I still am looking for honesty on par with "Hot N Cold." While "Teenage Dream" seemed to be better produced, the personal level was missing, and it carries over to "Prism."
That isn't to say that this album isn't good. There are plenty of enjoyable songs that will probably be hitting the radio by tomorrow. Perry shows no signs of slowing down, though it is problematic that the record does feel more like pandering to an audience than exploring the personal subjects that are publicly known. The one saving grace is that she explores spirituality in tender, personal ways that shows growth as a performer as well as a person. When the album works, it manages to be fun. When it fails, it sounds like a monotonous production with 80's throwback synth and drum beats that only make her more blurred into the competition like, say, Carly Rae Jepsen.
"Prism" won't likely be as popular as "Teenage Dream," which may go down as her magnum opus. There is concern that she is losing her personal touch and while still a terrific singer vocally, she doesn't do much worth noting. The album clicks at times, but the production only takes it so far, as it manages to be both impressive when it wants to be ("Legendary Lover," "International Smile") and horrendous when set aside cliched lyrics ("The Moment," "This is How We Do"). But hey, even if the album doesn't have longevity, at least Perry managed to release an album that referenced Jeremy Dahmer for no good reason ("Dark Horse"). That's an achievement unto itself.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
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