The time taken out by Perry between the release of ‘Wide Awake’ and ‘Roar’ has been a decent rest. Unlike pop contemporary Rihanna, Perry wisely chose to avoid chart-saturation and the time taken has allowed her to develop a sound on Prism that is distinct and an evolution from her last album Teenage Dream.
Admittedly there are similarities, for example, the lack of an overall theme. As the name might suggest, the album exhibits every aspect of Perry; the downside of this being a distinct lack of cohesion. Some of the tracks seem to hint at her failed marriage with Russell Brand with soaring ballad ‘Unconditionally’ harking back to Perry at her most openly vulnerable. ‘Grace of God’ deals with the break-down of the marriage and Perry finding herself on the bathroom floor, at rock bottom and then, “I picked myself up, and put one foot in front of the other, and looked in the mirror and decided to stay. Wasn’t gonna let love take me out, that way.” The earnestness of these track signals a welcome change from the in-your-face bangers she cracked out in the Teenage Dream chart assault of 2010-12. ‘Dark Horse’ is the aftermath song, quizzing a prospective lover over whether he’s “ready for a perfect storm?”
Don’t worry though K-Pez fans, she still knows how to have a good time and how to work a ridiculous lyric. ‘Birthday’ acts as a very 90s follow-up to ‘Last Friday Night’, with a playful guitar underscoring the catchy beat. “So cover your eyes, I have a surprise, I hope you get a healthy appetite,” she flirts outrageously. The absolute highlight of the album is house-flecked ‘This Is How We Do’, a sumptuous club banger I defy anyone not to drop it low to. At the fluttering bridge, Perry declares raucously, “this one goes out to the ladies, at breakfast, in last night’s dress. This one goes out to all the kids who still have their car at the club valet, and its Tuesday,” she slurs in thick New Yorker. It’s a more sophisticated riff on the “guys I’m absolutely hammered, look at my bum,” pop that Rihanna’s been churning out since ‘Rude Boy.’ ‘International Smile’ has the catchiest “oohh” of the album, and even ticks the world city name-check pop cliché as Perry rattles off, ‘from Tokyo, to Mexico, to Rio,’ before diving into the glorious guitar-flecked dance that Perry does so well.
Surprisingly intense and beautiful is ‘Legendary Lovers’ a Bhangra-flecked mid-tempo number that twists and turns along for one of Perry’s most satisfying tracks of her career and the heavyweight counterpart to the light fare of ‘This Is How We Do’. “Take me down to the river, underneath the blood orange sun, say my name like a scripture, keep my heart beating light a drum,” Perry murmurs, clearly enchanted by the lover in question. Then of course there’s ‘Roar’, the confident assertion at the start of an album campaign and one that asserts Perry’s discovery of her identity. She can easily switch between tongue-in-cheek and heart-breakingly vulnerable on Prism, and in a less consummate performer like Rihanna that would be jarring, but Perry manages to own it. The sound is more mature and flows effortlessly. Prism has left me reaching for the repeat button since I first listened to it.