The first reviews for Witness are trickling in, and initial responses are mixed to strong. Reviwers say that the album has a darker mood than the previous albums. There are a few tracks that focus on "purposeful pop," while the others are about breakups, intimacy, and the digital age.
USA Today:
"Despite everything its lead singles and marketing campaign led listeners to expect, Witness is neither Perry's political manifesto, nor an album of embarrassing hip hop appropriation. The album Perry actually released is sonically coherent and entirely uncontroversial, its decent songwriting mostly focused on her wounded heart. Arguably, it's one of her most personal records to date, and yet the marketing focused on everything but."
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LA Times:
"Now comes the full album, titled “Witness,” and it’s more jumbled still, with would-be self-empowerment anthems next to earnest ballads lamenting the end of a relationship."
"Witnesscontains strong moments beyond “Chained to the Rhythm,” which still feels like the beginning of an intriguing project... [but] Witness, whose singles keep stalling out like Trump’s travel ban, diagnoses only Perry’s desperation for a hit."
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Mashable:
"Feeling like the world is slipping out of your fingers is ripe for material, but more of than than not, it comes off as robotic. She's chained to her own rhythm."
"Teenage Dream's monster success followed by "Part of Me" set her up to ground her cotton candy cloud persona, but finding her footing since then has been a challenge. Prism was a decent effort that didn't quite have the same luster, but Witness feels more like a spiral."
"There are bright spots on Witness, though."
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