Struggle real for Perry’s ‘Witness’

White, Nas, Lobos cover American standards

KBy Mesfin Fekadu

“Witness” (Capitol) She once roared. But now, we’ll just call it meowing.

Katy Perry, one of the top voices in contemporary pop over the last decade, limps into her fourth album with a collection of songs that don’t have a cohesive feel or message. It’s a random hodgepodge of tracks that don’t spark or shine; some of the tunes are cute, but most are forgettable.

“Witness” doesn’t offer a fresh, or refreshed, Perry — the only thing new about her is that haircut.

Vocally, she doesn’t sound inspired or inspiring. And while “Witness” isn’t expected to be the year’s best album, what was expected was some fun, killer pop hits.

Lead single, “Chained to the Rhythm,” is watered-down reggae pop without any real reggae flavor, and current single, the Nicki Minaj-assisted “Swish Swish,” is a miss-miss.

“Witness” is Perry’s first album without mega-producer Dr Luke, who is currently at war with pop singer Kesha over sexual abuse claims (he denies her allegations). Max Martin, Dr Luke’s former mentor, is still present though, along with big names like Sia, Jeff Bhasker and DJ Mustard.

But none of them come to Perry’s rescue. The beginning of “Hey Hey Hey” sounds like “Dark Horse,” Perry’s last No. 1 hit, and the hook echoes Avril Lavigne. “Bigger Than Me” comes off like a leftover track from her 2013 album, “Prism.” And the title track is a bore.

Perry finds the right momentum on the dreamy “Tsunami,” produced by Mike WiLL-Made It; “Bon Appetit,” chosen as the official second single for mere minutes, is upbeat and catchy; and “Power,” with little lyrics, is a shining effort thanks to multi-instrumentalist Jack Garratt’s layered, experimental sound.

But overall, “Witness” falls short. The album’s songs are almost as awkward as Perry’s recent actions, from the weird dancing onstage with rap group Migos to her “joke” about comparing her hair to former US president Barack Obama. It is also the first time Perry is launching an album without a monster hit behind her.

“Swish swish bish/Another one in the basket,” she sings. “Witness” is more like an air-ball.

Now 32, the pop superstar has discovered adulthood. On a new album,

for a string of hits in the 1980s including “Against All Odds” and “In the Air Tonight” — postponed shows scheduled Thursday and Friday at London’s Royal her sound is sultry and her experiences are anything but chaste.

“Witness,” which released Friday, marks Perry’s first album since 2013 and comes after the artist largely retreated for a year following the blockbuster success of her “Prism” album and tour.

Perry, released of hits have dominated mainstream radio and teenage girls’ playlists for the past decade, evidently has had her fill of producing anthemic synth-pop.

On “Witness,” few of the songs easily lend themselves to arena singalongs.

Perry brings a retro disco energy to first single “Chained to the Rhythm,” but the song is an outlier, with Perry incorporating the robust beats of R&B and hip-hop to toughen her pop style.

Hip-hop powerhouse Nicki Minaj shares her rhymes into “Swish Swish,” whose urban, funky rhythm could have come from Janet Jackson, while rising trap trio Migos make “Bon Appetit” even saucier.

On “Roulette,” the most classic Perry song on the album with an infectious dance-pop beat, the more mature Perry describes her new taste for romantic danger — “Take the safety off for a minute.”

Perry also allows more space for her own voice, showing her talent for gliding from a gentle rasp to smooth higher ranges. Over understated electronica, she lets her vocals carry the songs “Miss You More” and “Into Me You See.”

In a nod to its rap style, “Swish Swish” comes off as a diss track as Perry — the world’s most followed person on Twitter with nearly 100 million followers — warns: “Funny my name keeps coming out yo mouth / ‘Cause I stay winnin’.”

“American Epic: The Sessions” (Columbia Records)

Jack White, Nas, Elton John, Los Lobos, Bettye LaVette and Willie Nelson are part of a stellar cast performing a wide range of blues, country and other American songs and styles using vintage gear on “American Epic: The Sessions.”

The double album is part of a wider film, recording and publishing project rooted in the 1920s boom of recordings made with musicians across the country as record companies sought

Albert Hall. (AFP)

SEOUL:

Dominated

South Korean pop star T.O.P to expand their audiences and counter the rising popularity of radio. It was the era of Jimmie Rodgers, the Carter Family and Charley Patton, among many others.

Others on the two-disc, 32-song collections include Taj Mahal, Pokey LaFarge and Rhiannon Giddens, musicians already grounded in that pioneering era who sound right at home recording on reconstructed 1920s equipment using a single microphone and cutting straight to disc.

Most of the repertoire consists of covers of decades-old tunes, although Elton John wrote “2 Fingers” with Bernie Taupin and Nas, after a spoton version of the Memphis Jug Band’s “On the Road Again,” makes his own “One Mic” (from his 2002 album “Stillmatic”) sound almost ancient.

A five-disc, 100-song box set called “American Epic: The Collection,” also excellent, has some of the sonically restored originals of songs like “The Coo Coo Bird” — covered here by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell — and “Mal Hombre,” Ana Gabriel versioning the truly fascinating Lydia Mendoza.

Produced mostly by White and T Bone Burnett, the time capsule aspect of the recordings does not feel gimmicky but gives the sounds of Alabama Shakes, Ashley Monroe or The Hawaiians a veneer that resonates across the ages.

“Ti Amo” (Glassnote) Phoenix’s music is a towering, grand and grandiose pop confection, like some elaborate tiered cake or dollhouse or 18th century princess’ wedding gown you’d see on vacation in Europe — dazzling and detailed in its craft and execution, reveling in its artifice yet very serious about its art. The biggest songs arrive like confetti blasts, with pulsating beats, intricately crafted hooks, sparkling synthesizers and haunting choruses. Even the song titles sound like coffee flavors or expensive chocolates: “Tuttifrutti,” “Fleur de Lys,” “Fior Di Latte” (which is actually a kind of cheese), “Via Veneto.”

Yet none of that is to say it’s frivolous: The songwriting and production are intelligent, elaborate and aimed directly at the sweet spot in the brain that craves quality pop music (see John Seabrook’s excellent book “The Song Machine” for more on that concept) and inspires music critics to engage in equally flowery metaphors. (Agencies)

regained consciousness Friday after spending three days in a critical condition in intensive care following an apparent drugs overdose.

The 29-year-old rapper from K-pop boy band Big Bang was found unconscious at a police station where he was undertaking mandatory military service, and rushed to a Seoul hospital on Tuesday.

“I’m sorry,” the singer, whose real name is Choi Seung-Hyun, told reporters Friday as he emerged from the hospital’s intensive care unit in a wheelchair.

Choi was to be transferred to a different hospital, his family said, without giving further details. (RTRS)

LOS ANGELES:

Lionel Richie is ready to hit the road with Mariah Carey for his “All the Hits” North American tour after a knee injury in March forced him to postpone the venture.

Richie and Carey are joining forces for the first time on tour, kicking off on July 21 in Oakland, California.

“I must tell you, I was so happy when she (Carey) said yes. My next thing was, ‘Really?’ It’s going to be one of those evenings where you are going to just ... it’s going to be pretty fun,” the “All Night Long” singer said.

Richie was coy when asked if he and Carey would duet on the tour — and if so, which song they would choose. (RTRS)