Perry Becomes An Unreliable "Witness"

I have a love-hate relationship with Katy Perry's songs. For every high like the wistful longing of "Teenage Dream," the sweeping grandeur of "Unconditionally," or the righteous anger of "Circle The Drain" (still her career-best track), there are lows like the cloying "Birthday," the grating ode to poor choices in "Last Friday Night," or the Velveeta-worthy cheese of "Waking Up In Vegas." She doesn't have the most durable voice or range, but at least it's unique and distinctive. If nothing else, you can always tell who's singing and occasionally feel compelled to hum along.

It was encouraging to see how involved Perry became in last year's presidential election, helping with voter registration and supporting vital platforms. To me, it showed that she does indeed care about the messages she sends and wants to use her influence to make a difference. I was hoping that same passionate fire would fuel her latest album, "Witness," for which she unveiled a dramatic hair and style makeover reminiscent of early Annie Lennox. Could this be the album that legitimizes Perry as a real artist rather than another generic superstar? Just like the outcome of that election, I was woefully mistaken.

Don't let the striking, avant-garde cover art fool you; "Witness" represents nothing radical among the trappings of mainstream pop. Whatever profound insights that Perry gleaned from her work on the campaign trail are buried by simply rehashing the same musical trends that are suffocating Top 40 as we know it. There's a fine line between catchy and carbon-copy, but nothing here is even remotely contagious.

Along with lead single "Chained To The Rhythm," songs like "Power" and "Hey Hey Hey" are well-intentioned anthems that urge wake-up calls. Unfortunately, as with the majority of the album's tracks, their impact gets lost among heavily processed vocals that scrub what's left of the personality right out of her voice. Add unmemorable sing-songy arrangements and inconsistent genre choices, and you get an auditory recipe for disaster. "Witness" attempts to span a spectrum of styles, but by trying to be a jane of all trades, Perry is a mistress of none.

Bigger isn't always better, and though it may be too much to ask from the queen of the whipped cream-launching bra, subtlety would be welcome. "Bon Appetit" is borderline embarrassing with its clumsy sex-as-food metaphors as well as lyrics so amateurish that I can't even bring myself to include an example. "Save As Draft" awkwardly inserts technological slang into an otherwise earnest ballad, while "Tsunami" shamelessly recycles overused oceanic wordplay. Even the title track isn't about Perry as a messenger of change, but rather her search for one to help complete herself -- fundamentally undermining the feminist label that she has previously aspired to achieve. With very little to save the album from itself, each of the 15 songs are locked in a tie for last place.

My primary concern with "Witness" (and Perry's career trajectory in general) is that she doesn't know what she wants to do. Is she pop ("Roulette")? R&B ("Pendulum")? Adult contemporary ("Miss You More")? Electronic ("Deja Vu")? Or even gospel ("Bigger Than Me")? Plenty of albums have been musically diverse, but without an individualized core statement to anchor it, this particular collection drifts aimlessly. It's an identity crisis that endangers any hope of her being taken more seriously than just another commercial success story. By actually lowering herself to include the diss track "Swish Swish" (her latest volley in a petty feud with fellow unremarkable siren Taylor Swift), Perry proves she's no better than her contemporaries. 

This misstep wouldn't be such a disappointment if it weren't coming from the same singer who, once upon a time, inspired so many people to "Roar." On "Witness," the best that Perry can hope for is an unenthusiastic hiss. Better luck next time, Katy!