Album Review: ‘Prism’ by Katy Perry

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It appears that Katy Perry is now the one standing on top of the Pop world! And not only that–but she has helped bring back the “clean” image of Pop music that seems to have  been lost in the last several years.

With the worldwide fame that Katy Perry enjoys now, her professional career is on overdrive and her best years are still to come.

While the question lingers if her latest offering ‘Prism’ can match or even surpass the global success of her previous studio-release in 2010 titled ‘Teenage Dream’, the answer to that will be determined in due time because we have to wait as to which other tracks in her album ‘Prism’ will be selected to become the next singles.

Now, let us see what ‘Prism’ has to offer for her fans.

Here is my review of the BEST TRACKS of ‘Prism.’

Track 2. “Legendary Lovers” – A ton of global references here which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but again Katy Perry is one of the few Pop artists who can still make it work without sounding too cliché. What this track may lack in the lyrical department, it makes up for in its instrumentation. First off , you can hear a tribal-inspired backing drum beats. Other additional World music elements are thrown in for good measure to give “Legendary Lovers” that international appeal to it for her touring purposes.

Track 4. “Walking On Air” – Can you say this is 90’s dance music ? Katy Perry sure can in this throwback track. While it certainly has that 90’s retro vibe about it, it doesn’t border on sounding like a cheap rip-off of someone’s else’s work melody-wise from that said decade. Rather. Katy Perry reimagines herself to be a 90’s diva. A cool approach, I have to say, and tastefully executed, too. “Walking On Air” is a prime example of where her experimentation pays off and doesn’t backfire on her. It also made think if she had started her career in the 90’s, would she have been the same Katy Perry that we all know now ? I leave that thought to ponder on for you kids out there.

Track 5. “Unconditionally” – The official second single of ‘Prism’ is a bit of a tearjerker for her fans. Especially because this track is basically all about her looking past the flaws of a person and just accepting that individual for the person he is. This is a direct reference to Katy Perry’s boyfriend John Mayer. If clear honesty is a plus factor to hear from any artist–and what more from the likes of Katy Perry–then it doesn’t run short in this album. The “maturity” she wanted to attain is reflected in this track.

Track 6. “Dark Horse” featuring Juicy J – To listen to the only track in the whole ‘Prism’ album which has a guest spot–the southern Rapper Juicy J who also happens to be a celebrated

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member of Three 6 Mafia–was interesting for me, to say the least, and it definitely got my attention.

While Katy Perry holds her own here, you know she is just in this for more on the experimentation side to see if she can mesh her specific style with that of Juicy J’s. It still comes off though as a decent Hip-Hop influenced mid-tempo track from Perry, complete with some of those signature Three 6 Mafia beats and Juicy J’s rap verses. Definitely, the title of this track turned out to be exactly what it is–and that, this is indeed the “Dark Horse” of the whole album.

Track 8. “International Smile” – This track sounds like it could have been included in ‘Teenage Dream’. This is one of the more bubbly Pop-sounding tracks that ‘Prism’ has to offer. While it is neither innovative nor one of the best tracks, it does have a purpose though in this album and it is a perfect track to be used for international tours. She mentions numerous cities here around the world and that guarantees to get some cheap pops in the process when performed in any of those aforementioned cities in the said track.

Track 11. “This Moment” –  We’ve got another anthem but which is more on the self-help side. When I compared it to the other previous tracks in ‘Prism’, Katy Perry doesn’t seem to be stuck so much in the past. Instead, “This Moment” focuses to bring back her attention to the present and what tomorrow might bring. Perhaps, it is her realization that her past experience in a failed relationship will not only make her a stronger but a wiser person as well.

Track 13. “By the Grace of God” – In terms of just how personal the lyrics are in this track, you would think this is a page taken from Katy Perry’s diary. You get some detailed stuff here. For instance, such lines like: “I thank my sister for keeping my head above the water / When the truth was like swallowing sand.” It is sentimental to say the least but for good reason since this is about the pain she felt during her break-up with Russell Brand. And the haunting piano melody we hear in the background just adds to all the drama of this track.

The album offers some notable diversity and that is a welcome surprise in the right direction. ‘Prism’ no longer sounds like you are listening to the same tracks over and over again which essentially were “copied and pasted” in one continuous sequence in the track listing as was the case in her previous albums. There really is an attempt here to shake things up and I could credit this to the fact that the producers have allowed Katy Perry more creative control of the tracks and it is no longer just the same group of songwriters from her previous album in 2010 ‘Teenage Dream’ that have their final say on the output and what tracks should make the cut.

My Final Verdict: 7/10