Katy Perry achieved maturation with
Prism, the 2013 album anchored on the self-empowerment anthem "Roar" and the club smash "Dark Horse." Considering how "Roar" scored the closing stages of
Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign, it would've seemed like a logical move for
Perry to build upon its adult alternative affirmation but she's instead chosen to use "Dark Horse" as a blueprint for
Witness, the long-awaited 2017 successor to
Prism. Perhaps
Perry shifted her approach after "Rise," the "Roar"-alike written for the 2016 Olympics that she also performed at that year's Democratic National Convention, failed to crack the Top Ten, perhaps she always planned to construct this album with electronic beats and synths, but
Witness is so slick with synths it seems slippery. Arriving on the heels of
Prism, a record littered with AAA crossover ballads, the dance-heavy
Witness feels like a bit of a shock. The album is filled with songs where
Perry attempts to address big cultural issues while walking a musical cutting edge. These conflicting desires surface on a tune as effervescent as "Chained to the Rhythm" -- the only track here that could be called that, although "Pendulum" comes close -- and a song as somnolent as "Bigger Than Me," the second of two ballads on the record and the one that addresses the fallout of the 2016 presidential election. Despite some sociological broad strokes,
Perry generally keeps her focus personal -- and usually romantic, although "Swish Swish" plays like a swipe at another superstar -- a decision that, when married to aggressive EDM-pop, makes
Witness feel very different than
Prism. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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