Katy Perry’s ‘143’ flounders rather than flourishes

Recommended Tracks: “I’M HIS, HE’S MINE,” “GORGEOUS,” “TRUTH”
Artists You Might Like: Lady Gaga, Dua Lipa, Miley Cyrus

In the 1976 issue of CREEM magazine, the late, great rock critic Lester Bangs argued that “it’s tough having heroes. It’s the hardest thing in the world. It’s harder than being a hero.” In his review of David Bowie’s Station to Station LP, Bangs explained that “hero-worshippers (fans) must live with the continually confirmed dread of hero-slippage.” This year has seen, to some extent, the unfortunate hero-slippage of Katy Perry, an artist who ruled the 2010’s with her insatiably uplifting pop and over-the-top theatrics.

Across all of its 34-minute pulse, Perry’s sixth studio album 143, out today, accomplishes its intended purpose of being a straightforward, bass-heavy mood-setter to rev the listener up before hitting the clubs. Where it struggles is its inability to push beyond this at-times dated dance floor fantasy, ultimately leading to sounds, refrains and themes that warrant head scratches over standing ovations.

Earlier this summer, posts online indicated a widespread longing for Perry to return with the same kind of knack for hitmaking she had in her imperial era of the late aughts and 2010’s. The odds seemed ever in her favor for a welcomed comeback after her time serving as a judge on American Idol and raising a daughter with financé Orlando Bloom. By universal alignment, she seemed primed — and almost destined — for a comeback of cataclysmic proportions. That is, until the pendulum took a brutal swing the other way after the release of 143’s lead single “WOMAN’S WORLD.” Reception to the long awaited comeback single was brutal, to say the least (largely due to Perry’s unsavory creative reunion with Dr. Luke, the pop auteur accused of sexual assault by Kesha). Since then, the jumpy, piano-led “LIFETIMES” and the Crystal Waters-sampling “I’M HIS, HE’S MINE” featuring Floridian rapper Doechii have slowly turned the red-hot reactions to this new era of Perry’s career more lukewarm.

It is in this generally lukewarm state that 143 arrives, opening with the forever-tarnished “WOMAN’S WORLD” before jumping into thudding, lighthearted cuts. “GIMME GIMME,” featuring a less-than-impressive verse from 21 Savage, idles in a monotonous midtempo pulse that sports flashes of the flirtatious Perry on 2012’s “Dressin’ Up,” but stays far too close to the ground for things to really take off. For the most part, the album sticks to its guns, offering songs that can be deliciously seductive and don’t aim for much else than sexy, electronic dance pop. The album’s Kim Petras collaboration “GORGEOUS” is a somewhat-unlikely pairing of pop prima donnas that pays off in a syrupy blend of the two artist’s voices. “ALL THE LOVE” finds its groove through simple lyricism and equally uncomplicated synth heartbeat.

The album’s aesthetic and studio-made sound flirt with the concept of musical futurism, but the songs struggle to find their wings to propel the record into that territory. Many of the tracks rely heavily on their dance pop production as a ploy for catchiness, when in reality, the electronic synth-pop production often feels like a hindrance to Perry’s knack for arena-fit chrouses. “NIRVANA” forgoes the opportunity to thrust the song into high gear with a killer chorus and instead meanders in a quasi-Euro-pop instrumental that can’t help but sound dated. “CRUSH” and “I’M HIS, HE’S MINE” rely on overly-repetitive “la da dee’s” for earworm attractiveness, though the latter is one of the album’s finer moments.

On 2010’s monumental Teenage Dream, moments of free-spirited friskiness shone especially technicolor in contrast to the thematic gravitas of others. Here, Perry seemed to have the perfect formula for crafting not only undeniable hit singles, but albums that ebbed and flowed both thematically and sonically while still tying things together with her signature quirk. This new record’s aim for seriousness and existentialism feels out of place alongside what has been described by Perry herself as an LP intended to lift spirits and offer dance floor serenity. “ARTIFICIAL,” featuring Atlanta-born rapper JID, sounds like a shallow outtake from the “purposeful pop” of 2017’s Witness with added BPM, while album closer “WONDER,” featuring a cameo from Perry’s daughter Daisy, shoots for the lyrical catharsis of “Firework” but sounds more fit for a campfire circle rather than a dance floor.

When you tie Michael Jackson for the most number one singles from one album and the efforts that follow aren’t as seismic, you risk becoming engulfed in that aforementioned hero-slippage. Perry’s career heights are as tall as Mount Everest, and it’s no easy task to climb back up to the summit repeatedly, let alone once. She will forever remain one of the godmothers of 2010’s pop, and perhaps it’s that framing itself that hinders her ability to push forward with the mainstream by her side. Sure, she’ll still maintain her strong base of diehard KatyCat’s (your critic included), but it seems unlikely that a mainstream comeback the size of Madonna’s Ray of Light, for example, is on the horizon. 143 isn’t a musical abomination as some may have you believe, but Perry’s attempts at supercharged dance unity ultimately flounder rather than flourish.