Katy Perry – 143

The internet can be a curious place. One day, you’re the cream of the crop; the next, you’re a withering hashtag. Katy Perry’s online downfall has been coming for a while, the vitriolic reviews of her 2020 album ‘Smile’ indicating that her pop lustre had become to fall away. Lead single ‘Woman’s World’ however seemed to trigger something. Deciding to work with Dr Luke – a notorious figure in pop – became the final straw for many observers, and since then… well, nothing has gone right.

Out now, ‘143’ isn’t all that bad a pop album. In places, her melodic flourish and penchant for Millennial camp come to the fore in a manner that suggests the creative fires are still burning. There’s a curious sense of being out of time, however – whether that’s the slim runtime (a CD friendly 11 tracks) or the production motifs, this feels curiously dated next to her blossoming peers.

There are some definite highlights on here. ‘Gorgeous’ pairs Katy Perry against Kim Petras – who has herself worked with Dr Luke – and the pair have all sorts of fun amid the plasticky production. ‘Nirvana’ is a surreal piece of Euro-pop flavouring, and the lurid 80s tones of ‘Crush’ rattle around your brain.

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JID is perhaps one of the better collaborations, on the frothy ‘Artificial’, while closer ‘Wonder’ overflows with child-like glee.

Even amongst its slim tracklisting, however, there are still mis-steps. ‘Woman’s World’ is a jarring opener, ‘I’m His, He’s Mine’ – with its frothy ‘Gypsy Woman’ interpolation – feels slight, and throughout the lyrics won’t be winning Pulitzers any time soon.

But then, Katy Perry was never really about that. A brash dose of colour for a drab post-Millennial pop scene, she was the bulldozer through the critics doors. On ‘143’ however, there’s a feeling that the world has moved on – with Chappell Roan’s tour sparking Beatlemania-esque scenes of adoration and Sabrina Carpenter maintaining a stranglehold on the charts, you struggle to see where this playful yet unsatisfying record fits into pop’s firmament.

5/10

Words: Robin Murray