You probably haven’t heard, but Katy Perry was briefly married to daddy long-legs dandy Russell Brand and their whirlwind getting together and even whirlwindier divorce is Prism’s unspoken but very obvious theme. In interviews Perry has hinted that Brand didn’t take too kindly to her strong-headedness and she chews over the topic at length here.
Single ‘Roar’ is a fem-pop chest-thumper; Perry used to be all mousy and buttoned down – look at her now, standing up for what she believes in and, yes, roaring. There’s some implied Brand-bashing on ‘Legendary Lovers’ and ‘Walking On Air’, but the centre-piece is break-up ballad ‘It Takes Two’. “I had to grow up,” she croons. “I wish you would too.” With beats by Dr. Luke (Ke$sha, Britney, Rihanna), Prism feels saccharine and throwaway at moments, but when Perry wears her heart on her sleeve, it’s astonishingly bare-boned and confessional.

Key Track: 'It Takes Two'