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Sep 23, 2024Even if Dr. Luke wasn’t involved and even if Katy Perry was still a Top 40 heavyweight, 143 still contributes nothing original to modern pop’s dialog. The record lacks new ideas, concepts and sounds.
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Sep 23, 2024If it was offensively bad, at least it'd be camp. Instead, each track is an ADHD simulation — so understimulating you forget what it sounds like seconds after it ends.
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Sep 21, 2024143 rings the death knell for Perry for no other reason than it commits pop music’s ultimate sin: it’s boring.
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Sep 20, 2024The problem for Perry is that these songs are bad, and not even in a fun way. “143” is an oddly cold dance-pop album with boring melodies, utilitarian grooves and vocal performances that feel vaguely AI-derived.
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Sep 20, 2024“Can somebody promise me our innocence doesn’t get lost in a cynical world?” Perry asks at one point — a great question to ask in 2024. But coming after the previous 10 tracks’ flop-sweat-flecked effort to crowbar Perry back into the zeitgeist, it ["Wonder"] sounds utterly hollow — and including her daughter Daisy on the track, which also happens to be the lone offering without any Luke involvement (it was instead produced by the Norwegian pop architects Stargate).
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Sep 23, 2024The big balloons that Perry’s music once waved aloft deflate slowly into a slew of dull, rubbery beats and empty boasts.
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Sep 20, 2024Nothing sparks on 143. It’s all about easy endings and uncomplicated emotions, thus targeted for basically anyone, but what she doesn’t know is that the majority aren’t as tasteless now. The comeback singles are met with brutal reception in every direction. “Wonder” is the only one with replay value, which features her child’s voice and perhaps hints at their undetermined gender identity, leaving it up for them to decide whenever ready (“Beautiful girl”, “Beautiful boy”). The truth is – and she must know even if it hurts her – everything else signals a career nosedive from which her reputation might not survive. On the bright side, though, 143 adds more shade to a colourful year of pop music.