Nostalgia is a great source of inspiration for musicians. Looking to bygone eras can often provide a spark to get creatively inspired and bring sounds of the past back to the present. This is what Katy Perry, one of the biggest pop stars of the 2010s, who is now about to turn 40, did for her latest album, “143,” as she looked to emulate her prior work for her seventh studio album. Despite her best intentions, “143” falls flat and sounds like a cheap knock-off version of her music.
The main problem with “143” is the songwriting. Most of the songs feature generic lyrics that lack any emotional depth or meaning to them and could have been phrased so much better. For example, the line: “I wanna know the truth, even if it hurts me” from the song “Truth” is an elementary and basic line. Listeners want to know how badly she wants to know the truth, but instead, they are left with this. Some of the lyrics also read like they were lifted straight from 2010 and not to good effect. The use of “digits to my cellular” in the song, “Gorgeous,” is one of many examples of the dated phrasing scattered throughout the lyrics.
But the biggest issue with Perry’s songwriting on “143” is the choruses. Perry’s best songs feature anthemic choruses with soaring melodies that are meant to be played and sung loudly. The new choruses pale in comparison to what she’s made in the past, as there’s nothing energetic about them. Many of these choruses simply repeat the same line over and over, with no change in melody or the musical arrangement underneath. The most egregious example comes from the song “Nirvana,” which features a low-energy chorus that simply consists of the line: “Show me that you’re gonna take me to Nirvana” repeated over and over. Choruses like this certainly aren’t going to be making the rotation of songs that will be sung by the youth of America in their cars as they do with songs like “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” and “Firework.”
The best way to describe “143” is a musical midlife crisis. The album shows Perry trying to recapture the magic of her early 2010s work that made her a superstar, but not coming close to those heights. It comes off as her trying to hold onto the past as the uncertainty of entering her 40s looms closer. She indirectly addresses this in the album’s closing song, “Wonder,” which features the line: “’Cause time is gonna fly, beauty’s gonna fade … Don’t let growing up bring you down.” Perry is essentially singing to her past self as a way to reflect the spotlight on her shrinking as the years go by in what is easily the most introspective and deep moment of the whole album.
The notion of “143” as a musical midlife crisis is also shown through songs that feature other artists on them. These features feel disjointed, forced and a way to show people that Perry is still hip and “with it.” The most awkward of these is the inclusion of 21 Savage in the song “Gimme Gimme.” This would have been cool in 2017, but this just feels like a forced attempt to stay relevant that falls flat. While the rap verses by Kim Petras and JID on the songs “Gorgeous” and “Artificial,” respectively, are objectively good, the juxtaposition of these versions with the generic dance-pop beats of those songs makes for an ill-advised combination.
Though “143” as a whole fails to live up to Perry’s previous work, there are still some moments of brilliance. The album’s two best songs, “Lifetimes” and “All The Love,” successfully capture that classic sound of Perry’s best work, featuring the album’s best choruses and melodies. Though they certainly don’t match the heights of her early work, these two songs sound like they would be right at home in the back half of an album like “Teenage Dream.”
Overall, “143” is a depiction of a fading star trying to avoid figuring out what’s next by trying to recreate the past with mostly poor results. The one saving grace is that it’s only 34 minutes long, which is a refresher from the bloated releases that dominate the music industry today.
Rating: 2/5 Teenage Dreams