On the heels of her latest hit single, "Roar," Katy Perry released her newest album Prism last week. That song is the first track, but it does not define the themes or feel of the album as a whole. While "Roar" is an upbeat pop song with lyrics meant to uplift any listener, the rest of Prism is a hodgepodge of songs with mismatched meanings and sonic qualities. Some songs contain strange or cheesy lyrics, while others include spoken word parts or synthesizer vocals that don't fit together well, but overall Perry's newest pop album creation certainly features some catchy future hits.

After the already released "Roar," the album continues with "Legendary Lovers," a track with some of the record's most distinctive sounds. It cycles between a drumbeat-dominated chorus and Middle Eastern-inspired drum sounds. The sheer sonic success of "Legendary Lovers," makes its lyrical content-the singer and her "legendary" love-almost irrelevant. The song has tame enough lyrics in comparison to some of the other more ridiculous lines on later tracks, with references to Cleopatra or Shakespeare's Juliet, so ultimately, what she's saying is less important than how it sounds on this track.

The following song, "Birthday," is another strong track on the album. Its upbeat 1970s sound matches its fun nature. The only downfall is an awkward whisper of "happy birthday" inexplicably in the middle of the song. Maybe Perry was trying to emulate Marilyn Monroe, but this came off as strange; I could easily see this song as a future single, so maybe this part will be cut out when the inevitable incessant radio plays begin.

Another song with the legendary love theme is "Walking on Air." While this song has a Madonna-like dance vibe, actually listening to the lyrics detracts from the song. When she's not repeating, "tonight, I'm walking on air," which, admittedly, is half of the song, she's spouting lyrics such as "heaven is jealous of our love / angels are crying from up above," or using this masterfully forced rhyme, "You're reading me like erotica / boy, you make me feel exotic, yeah." The song sounds different from the rest of the album-and I like that-but the lyrics are too ridiculous for me to take it seriously.

Ridiculous lyrics border on cheesy with the song "Double Rainbow." With lines such as "you're brighter than all of the Northern Lights" and "our chemistry was more than science," the song is impossible to take seriously and doesn't have a particularly interesting sound to compensate for the lines. But with a chorus that repeats, "we see eye to eye, like a double rainbow in the sky," I guess I really shouldn't be surprised.

Perry's second single off the album, "Dark Horse," has a more ominous feel, and though it sounds different from the other tracks, it is too much like a poor attempt at recreating her previous hit "E.T.," off her sophomore album, Teenage Dream. Juicy J's feature on the song does nothing to help it, either. I'm not sure if he's supposed to be rapping or singing, but he does say such priceless lyrics as, "I was tryin' hit it and quit it / but lil' mama so dope / I messed around and got addicted." If this song gains greater popularity on the radio, I can only hope he is cut out in the radio edits. So far "Dark Horse" has only broken the top 20 in the American charts, and I can see it either gaining greater popularity or fizzling out because it is not as strong as some of her previous hits.

One of Perry's better songs comes toward the end of the album. "Love Me" follows the pattern of some of Perry's other songs, such as Teenage Dream's "Firework" and Prism's "Roar," offering inspirational lyrics to a catchy beat. In "Love Me," Perry sings about almost losing herself in order to hold onto a lover and realizing that she doesn't need to do this; she sings that she should love herself the way she wants someone else to love her.

Regardless of how ridiculous some of the rest of the album's lyrics are, or the more interesting sound components on others, I appreciate the inclusion of this song and its message. Prism could have used more songs like this because alone, it cannot overcome the strangeness of some of the rest of the album.

Perry's newest album is a mix of catchy beats covering sometimes odd lyrics, and forgettable tracks that are not very different in sound or lyrics. Some of the songs are fun to listen to, but overall the strangeness is hard to overlook.