KATY PERRY - One Of The Boys

Aug 18 2008

(Virgin)

IGNORE the demure 50s glamour shot on the cover – chart-topper Katy Perry is a Californian ladette peddling the latest resurrection of girl power with punky pop, shopping mall chic and sugary street sass.

“I want to break the mold, I wanna break the stereotype,” she sings in finale Fingerprints but – let’s be honest – she does neither, no matter how radio-friendly and packed with chart punch her songs may be.

So yes, there’s tantalising tease (I Kissed A Girl), risque recrimination (Ur So Gay), morning after misery (Waking Up In Vegas), and high maintenance (If You Can Afford Me) dressed up in power-pop riffs.

Think a female version of All-American Rejects hit Dirty Little Secret, to which several of these songs owe much.

When she slows down, Perry goes into amateur dramatics mode, with Thinking Of You boasting an angst-ridden vocal and I’m Still Breathing contemplating suicide after relationship breakdown.

Throughout, you can’t escape comparisons with Alanis Morissette and mall rat Avril Lavigne. Little wonder when you discover Glen Ballard (Alanis) and Dr Luke (Avril) produced this debut set. PC