"Prism" Reflects New Perry

For those who still associate Katy Perry with blue wigs, whipped-cream bras and dresses made out of cupcakes, her new album may be a game-changer. The gregarious pop queen reveals an unexpected sincerity and vulnerability in “Prism.” From the mellow “By The Grace of the God,” in which she addresses her struggles with suicidal thoughts, to “This Moment,” a powerful ballad that implores the listeners to live in the moment, her new album serves as an affecting message of resilience. Mostly gone are the formulaic, sugar-coated pop songs about puppy-love that brought Perry worldwide fame in her last album, “Teenage Dream.” Perry does revert back to her old self in couple of tracks, such as “This Is How We Do,” a strange contrast to the sincere tone of the album. Yet despite these incongruities, “Prism” effectively presents itself as a bold statement of empowerment, a lust for life even with the pain.

One of the major ways that Perry drastically changes in this album is through her blunt, honest lyrics. Her lyrics are sincere in that they reveal her personal crises: she addresses her failed marriage with Russell Brand and the consequent pain and recovery. In “By The Grace of God,” Perry viscerally takes the listener through her contemplation of suicide: “Laying on the bathroom floor / We were living on a fault line / and I felt the fault was all mine.” Similarly, in “Ghost,” Perry alludes to how Brand texted her for a divorce: “Yeah, we were burning our lives / With every kiss, and every letter / Every promise of forever, oh / But you hit send / And disappeared in front of my eyes.” Through the lyrics’ brutal honesty, “Prism” becomes commanding and dramatic.

As much as “Prism” addresses pain, Perry’s wish to move on rings clearly in the upbeat tune and rhythm used in conjunction to her empowering statements. Although the instrumentation is limited to shimmering synths during the sorrowful moments on “Ghost” a driving, upbeat rhythm takes over as Perry screams, “I’ll be alright / It doesn’t haunt me at night.” Similarly, “Unconditionally,” starts out mellow with syncopated rhythm, only for a rising synthesizer to take over at the same time as Perry’s realization: “Acceptance is the key to be / To be truly free.” The manipulation between mellow, minimal instrumentation and a strong, upbeat sound heightens the lyrical message of self-empowerment. The heart of this album is the theme of resilience through the pain.

But “Prism” goes beyond addressing the change in Perry’s personal life—she also explores genres outside of pop, ranging from electronica to plaintive, subdued ballads. “Legendary Lovers” is a perfect mix of bhangra-inspired rhythms and pop hooks. Perry also introduces electronica in “Choose Your Battles” with steady synthesizer beats. Perry even offers up a bubbly rap for a segment of the song. An unexpected change from the uplifting, energetic pop songs, “By The Grace of God” is a mellow piano ballad, perhaps a genre that befits its somber topic. By borrowing and injecting elements from other genre, Perry seems to ponder not only her personal development, but also the direction of her musical career.

Yet a couple of the tracks, such as “International Smile,” “This is How We Do,” and “Birthday,” seem like random additions to the album, almost as if Perry wasn’t fully ready to leave her pop roots. They are largely mediocre and underwhelming, both in their generic music and vague lyrics. “Birthday” especially is a formulaic pop song with its electric guitar, conventional rhythm, single tonality, and drums and bass for instrumentation. Even Perry’s voice seems to be overly digitalized. Its lyrics are equally banal: “I know you like it sweet / So you can have your cake / Give you something good to celebrate.” These songs seem less like representation of the old Katy Perry than like generic, overly processed pop songs. They detract from Perry’s maturation as an artist and her pain carefully articulated in the rest of the album.

Altogether, “Prism” is an appealing album in that the forthright lyrics unexpectedly reveal Perry’s vulnerability while signifying a maturation in Perry’s musical career—a pop princess carefully incorporating new genres. The album imparts empowerment, as in its anthem “By the Grace of God”: “Thought I wasn’t enough / Found I wasn’t so tough…I put one foot in front of the other and I / Looked in the mirror and decided to stay.”