Album review: Katy Perry – Witness

Amidst a controversial promotion campaign leading up to this albums’ release, Katy Perry has offended many of her fans, publicly dissed Taylor Swift and hosted a 72 hour live stream via Youtube. Not that she was ever a squeaky clean pop star however – we all remember her breakthrough single I Kissed A Girl. Her makeover appears to be more than skin deep, with a new sound to match the new haircut. Will this change of direction affect her popularity as she releases Witness…

Witness‘ list of collaborators is enough to excite even Katy’s harshest critics. It boasts production from one of the UK’s hottest house producers, Duke Dumont, along with work from DJ Mustard and Hot Chip among others. There is a distinctly electronic theme throughout, with many up-beat dance floor fillers to pick from. Witness starts things off with a well thought out intro, like you could almost be listening to something by Bonobo or Submotion Orchestra. Even though it evolves into something altogether more poppy, it retains an unexpected maturity.

Swish Swish, which follows later, is a confusing roller coaster that begins with a familiar “they know what is what” sample, followed by a plain intro. Once the Duke Dumont-produced house sexiness arrives, Katy Perry almost turns into Madonna as she sings along with the garage organs and James Brown screams. As if the switch between the chorus and verse wasn’t enough of a headache, Niki Minaj adds another one of her over zealous features. Her energy is very unwelcome here, and she has quite a long way to go before she matches something like Azaelia Banks’ performance on Desperado (from her Broke With Expensive Taste album). 

Witness is the fifth studio album by American singer Katy Perry

Déjà Vu is another house beat, with a bass line that bounces around elegantly. Katy is true to form with some pretty empty songwriting (and ever-loose rhyming) but as always there is something that draws you in. Bon Appétit is another French-titled piece of pop, where she teams up with Bad N Boujee rap stars Migos. It somehow references trap, west coast hip hop and trance…which shouldn’t work but it seems that everything she touches has the ability to get stuck in your head. Migo’s do what they do best, and manage to bring back a little credibility to another flat and dated offering.

Much of the album sits comfortably on the fence somewhere and is perfect daytime radio fodder in line with Lorde, Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus. This does not mean that Katy hasn’t broken the mould at times though, Power is truly a powerful piece. With an epic portion of thick, synthesised jazz chords reminiscent of Flume or Swindle. It is dripping with funk and inspires some confident vocals to match the fuzzy bass, she screams “I’m a goddess and you know it” over the top of keyboards, 80’s saxophone and punchy tom drums. This could have been one of the album’s high points, but as with many other modern pop albums, this one is unquestionably over produced.

Of course it would not be a Katy Perry album without a ballad or two, and Miss You More fits the bill perfectly. The lyrics are full of heartache and the Weeknd-influenced production is a solid accompaniment to some ridiculous vocal range. The album comes to a close with another emotional offering Into Me You See, which is too slow even for the last dance at a school disco. “No ones ever seen me like this/seen right through that bullshit”. Is this an insight into the Katy behind the fun persona she tends to portray?

Witness has already received some bad press since its release, but she does have an immense legacy to live up to. Roulette and Chained To The Rhythm (featuring Skip Marley) have bags of potential and with their annoyingly addictive hooks they will no doubt ensure another successful outing for the pop princess. Come and make your own mind up and listen to it in one of our Richer Sounds demo rooms?