Writing

Displays intelligence, individuality and character but too often morphs into parody.

Al Fox 2010-08-23

Love or hate Katy Perry, she knows how to play the game. Coquettish expressions, polarising wardrobe choices and salacious quotes about her high-profile relationship certainly havent harmed her status. But vitally, theres a cut-off point, leaving the music to do the rest. Exhibit A: Perrys second major-label album Teenage Dream, which employs her knack of turning heads before following through with the substance.

So where the tawdry, attention-seeking I Kissed a Girl was fully absolved by the instantaneous pop majesty of Hot n Cold, there are similarly ample examples of distinction on Teenage Dream to apologise for the cataclysmic airplay beast that is California Gurls.

Firework displays a breezy maturity and serious set of pipes, a true demonstration of Perrys musicianship without contradicting the kittenish mischief of the bigger picture. The title-track, meanwhile, further attests Perry is at her best when naturally playful. But, disappointingly, Teenage Dream morphs into grotesque parody far too regularly.

Perrys in no hurry to grow up, as this albums title implies, but habitually its theme is akin to a group of Year 7 boys giggling at their biology textbooks. Peacock carries so much awkward, shoehorned innuendo its difficult not to visualise Joan Sims being chased round a campsite by Kenneth Williams. Even Ke$ha would struggle to pull this off.

But on the evidence of Circle the Drains menacing undertones or the rave-influenced quasi-ballad E.T., theres a resolute aptitude for sober, dark deliberations which introduce a very different Katy Perry to the one with the unsolicited residency in many a showbiz column.

If Teenage Dreams endeavoured to surprise, its a partial triumph. Theres intelligence, individuality and character in abundance. But all too often its caked in dollar-store body glitter and choked by feather boas. A penchant for the carnivalesque is no shameful pleasure for a 25-year-old woman, but the generous glimmers of sharp, imaginative brilliance that pepper Teenage Dream suggest its standing in the way of something far greater

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Reviewers Genre- Analysing Kit Answer the following questions about the review you are reading: Meaning What is being reviewed? What music genre? Does the review like it? What, if anything, was especially good about the thing being reviewed? What, if anything, was especially bad about the thing being reviewed? Who, if anybody, should be criticised for their part in it? What, if anything, does the thing remind the review of?

Construction How is the headline/caption constructed? What does each paragraph contain, and how are the paragraphs sequenced? What grammar and lexis is used to show approval? What grammar and lexis is used to show disapproval?