Katy Perry, this week, released her third studio album Prism; following the 2011 record Teenage Dream, which saw five of its singles hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Love her or hate her, you can’t deny her status in the industry. Her personal life can overshadow her music, but in the end, as this record shows, you have to experience things personally to help fuel your creativity.

 

ROAR

Having already reached that coveted number one spot internationally, Roar is the perfect first single. It’s as if she is announcing her comeback both musically and personally “You held me down, but I got up, already brushing off the dust. You hear my voice, you hear that sound, like thunder, gonna shake the ground.”

 

LEGENDARY LOVERS

With its tribal, echoing beats and interesting layering, Legendary Lovers leaves you thinking “Maybe this is the beginning of something magical”. It’s a dance pop song, but with an edge that standard dance tracks don’t have; quantity of lyrics and an intricate melody.

 

BIRTHDAY

The California girls 70’s guitar riff for third track Birthday is that of a classic pop song. Stripped from current producing trends, Perry takes us back to her One of Those Boys days, as if she is sheading that blue wig: “So let me get you in your birthday suit”.

 

WALKING ON AIR

Walking on Air could easily be mistaken as a retro 90’s track due to its composition, its echoed vocals and an unrecognisable Katy Perry voice throughout each verse. At points exaggerated or fantasy-like, Katy’s lyrics are relatable, especially to those who have experienced love or heartache: “Heaven is jealous of our love, angels are crying from up above”.

 

UNCONDITIONALLY

With verses of distant reverb and drum beats, that slowly builds into a hard hitting chorus, Unconditionally is definitely a record favourite of mine, due to the layering of each instrument and vocal track, which has been maturely produced. The lyrics also provide an insight into how dark Perry’s world has been. “Oh no, did I get too close? Oh, did I almost see what’s on the other side?”.

 

DARK HORSE

Katy Perry seems to be ditching her bubble-gum-pop sound; Dark Horse represents this. Using her falsetto, not only on this track, but on others on the record, works really well with her sound. This modern sound matches that of the statement she makes in the lyrics: “Make me your one and only, but don’t make me your enemy”.

 

THIS IS HOW WE DO

This is How We Do is a fun, easy listen. “This goes out to the ladies, at breakfast, in last night’s dress, uh huh, I see you. Yo, this goes out to all you kids that still have their cars at the club valet and it’s…Tuesday”. If you are aware of Katy’s days Prior to I Kissed a Girl, then this song has some throwbacks to her song Simple, through lyric placement and general feel. I think it could definitely be a contender for our summer music charts.

 

INTERNATIONAL SMILE

A song that wouldn’t have seemed out of place on Teenage Dream, International Smile appears to be a track about the life of a pop star, and the pressure of keeping up appearances. The track does have some Venga Boys moments, thanks to a Flight Attendant voice over. As well as having some of the album’s less inspired lyrics, “cause she’s a little bit a YOLO, and she’s a little bit an Oh No”.

 

GHOST

Synth pop ballad Ghost, is another of my picks from Prism. The darker side of this record is a direction I would really like to hear more of from Perry. “And now you’re just a ghost. When I look back I would never have known that you could be so cold. Like a stranger vanished like vapour. There’s just an echo where your heart used to be.”

 

LOVE ME

The lyrics of Love Me suggest that she has struggled with separating Katy Perry from Katy Hudson- “I lost my own, my own identity”- and how she is done with having her personal life in the spotlight, wanting people (Fans/Media) to judge her only for her music. “Sometimes I wish my skin was a costume, that I could unzip, and strip”.

 

THIS MOMENT  

“All we have is this moment, tomorrow is unspoken, yesterday is history” really does give you a sense that this is where Perry wants to be, both personally and musically. There is an air of hope to the music and the lyrics.

 

DOUBLE RAINBOW

Double Rainbow is another prime example of Katy’s new mature pop sound. The opening sounds similar to music composed by bands such as Warpaint and Now, Now, with some added synth sounds, all while having that mainstream edge and pop lyrics. “It was defining, light like lightening, it was striking, you couldn’t deny it.”

 

BY THE GRACE OF GOD

Piano driven Ballad, By The Grace of God, is Perry’s most honest track on Prism. “I thanked my sister, for keeping my head above the water, when truth was like swallowing sand.” The vocals are emotion driven and haunting, while the choruses lift to an inspiring optimism.

 

IT TAKES TWO (Bonus Track)

Opening with a battle like beat, It Takes Two takes you on a melodic journey, of lifting proportions. “I face my demons, yeah, I paid my dues. I had to grow up, I wish you could too. I wanted to save you, but I can only save myself”.

 

SPIRITUAL (Bonus Track)

First of the bonus tracks is Spiritual, producing some of the record’s more poetic lyrics: “I have prayed for a power like you, to see deep down in my soul. Oh, you make me bloom, like a flower at a desert road”

 

CHOOSE YOUR BATTLES (Bonus Track)

With its distorted opening beats, Choose Your Battles is the characterising song of the record. It shows the musicality Perry holds, all while containing the lyrics that summarise the feelings felt throughout the process of the album.