With its flesh-kneading video, Katy Perry’s Bon Appétit whetted appetites for the star’s new album. The bubbling two-step track Swish Swish, featuring a Roland Clark sample (also used in Fatboy Slim’s Star 69), and the ever-inventive Nicki Minaj, provides more top-flight, shade-throwing diva product. But Witness’s filler can misfire, such as the forgettable Mike Will Made It-produced Tsunami. “Purposeful pop”, meanwhile, is a hard trick to pull off: what is party queen Perry up to, critiquing her fanbase as wasted zombies on Chained to the Rhythm? Can she really be crying “woke” after a career pushing so much nudge-wink hedonism?
