The new Katy Perry sounds like a Ke$ha B-Side :( - listen to the premiere of 'California Gurls' now!

We love 'Hot and Cold.'  We really do.  We even liked 'I Kissed a Girl' for a few days back in '08.  And even if 'Waking Up In Vegas' was the aural equivalent of a root canal performed in a back alley, at least Katy Perry's "Katy Perry-ness" came out in it.  Unfortunately that's not something we can say about her new track 'California Gurls' (yes, with a "u" instead of an "i" because she is "hip" and "sTrEeT," and also because that's how she spelled it one day and since she's famous no one wanted to correct her). 

'Gurls' (shudder) does update Perry's sound a bit, adding in the rave-y 90's synths that are becoming all the rage, but at the same time somehow loses any sense of identity in the process.  In fact, if we heard this and didn't have any background or source identification, we'd guess it was a Ke$ha track. 

Still, there are worse things we could be listening to.  There could be a new Black Eyed Peas album, for instance.  Or something from Nickelback.  So we'll take this mediocre slice of crowd-pleasing paint-by-the-numbers pop, but with the hopes that Miss Perry's new album skews a little less obvious, and includes a little more of the personality that made her a star. 

Let's take a little listen, shall we?



Ugh, never mind, it's kind of good. 

Dammit.

Out to radio now, to download soon (the radio date had to be moved up because of leaks so the download date is a bit in limbo), and an album will follow in August.