Amassing a 13-million-strong army of Lovatics over the course of three fairly strong studio albums, Demi Lovato‘s now entered the inevitable stage of any teen Queen’s career where she has to prove that she has some form of longevity. And for Lovato, the stakes are particularly high because she has credibility as a judge on The X Factor to think of.
So a lot is riding on this semi-eponymous collection – can it live up to the awesomeness of its lead single? Let’s assess it track by track…
1. ‘Heart Attack’– Well, we all already know that this is the track of the decade, right?
2. ‘Made In The USA’– With amazing pop production and an incredible, blazing chorus, this would make an easy choice as a follow-up single, perfectly geared towards the summer months. It has a bit of a banjo-y feel in places that puts it in the same ballpark as much of Taylor Swift’s output, only this has much, much bigger lungs.
3. ‘Without The Love’– The awesome mid-tempo production is slightly Katy Perry-like, but it doesn’t really do it justice to compare it to other people. Some of its lyrics are just brilliant, with “You try to take me home like like Joe DiMaggio, it’s criminal” being a highlight. Oh, and the break-down middle-8 is quite something.
4. ‘Neon Lights’– The low pitched, husky opening is awesome, but the ‘We Found Love’ style lead-in to the rave-up chorus is a bit of a disappointment. A pretty decent track, but in the context of how great the rest of the album is, this is far from the best.
5. ‘Two Pieces’– The sharp transition into the first chorus is a bit of a steep change first-time round, but the chorus itself is really stirring. Demi’s really starting to show off vocally here – utilising her gentle, pretty ‘head voice’ one moment and exercising her famous belt the next.
6. ‘Nightingale’– Its singer’s own personal favourite, this is destined to become legendary among the fans, and it’s easy to see why… a brilliantly rousing ballad, performed amazingly. There’s a bit in the second verse where Demi just makes the phrase “I don’t know” sound so affected, it’s almost goosebump-inducing. There’s a pizzicato-style thing going on in the chorus that gives it an extra kick, and the unexpected gospel-choir-style finale actually adds to the effect, rather than over-does it. This is a special song.
7. ‘In Case’ - Backed by a piano only, Demi gets her ‘World Of Chances’-style story-telling hat on and delivers yet another affected performance packed with so much conviction that it really doesn’t matter if she wrote a word of the lyrics herself or not. Listen to this in a particularly fragile state of mind and there’s an 88% chance you’ll cry.
8. ‘Really Don’t Care’ (with Cher Lloyd) - After a trio of mid-low tempo semi-ballads, it’s great to hear the energy picked up again, and this is a great Faulk/Kotecha/Yacoub shout-a-long kiss-off. Demi kicks ass, and Cher’s guest verse fits a lot better than you probably think it will. Her spunky shtick actually works really well in a middle-8-only context.
9. ‘Fire Starter’ - Similar to ‘Neon Lights’, but better.The bubbling-under style production on the second verse is brilliant, and “I’m a badass jumping off a moving train” is up there with the album’s best one-liners. A potential single, its closest companion in Previous Demi terms is probably ‘Hold Up’ from Unbroken.
10. ‘Something That We’re Not’ -The thick electric guitar plucking away in the background to the verses gives them some extra backbone, and the bratty, ‘WTF’ lyrics are delivered with perfect sass– especially a quick “Not gonna happen dude” spoken quip in the middle-8.
11. ‘Never Been Hurt’ -Excellent war reference with “My heart’s on the front line”– and we all know how well pop songs go hand in hand with war metaphors, right? It’s A little like the title track from Unbroken, and the vocal gymnastics on the ends of the choruses are insane. Not one of the strongest tracks on the LP, and there’s a definite sense of late-album sagging going on… but this album’s average is most albums’ amazing, so it’s a small quibble.
12. ‘Shouldn’t Come Back’ -A great rock ballad that takes the ‘Don’t Forget’/'Catch Me’ approach to hitmaking but matures it slightly, ‘Shouldn’t Come Back’ is yet another example of Demi’s newfound vocal maturity – not only is she pulling off technical tricks she hasn’t before, she’s also delivering with so much more emotional resonance, and is all the more amazing for it.
13. ‘Warrior’ - Starting with a gentle piano and the line “This is a story that I have never told”, it’s obvious where this one is going – and luckily the emotional punch lives up to the ambition and epic packaging. The chord sequence at the top end of the chorus is cracking, and generally it’s not that dissimilar to Christina Aguilera’s ‘Beautiful’. But as unoriginal as it sounds, this well-worn subject matter is saved from blandness by powerful delivery – more restrained, and subsequently a lot more moving, than the likes of Unbroken’s ‘For The Love Of A Daughter’. It doesn’t matter how many times songs like this have been done if it’s coming from the heart (pardon the cheese) and stirring up the right response in the listener.
Quite simply, she slayed it. Demi is the album that will revolutionise its artist as a popstar for the modern age. As great as its predecessor Unbroken was, suddenly it just feels like a support act for this; a record so good that even its weaker tracks are brilliant.
Good luck to everyone else planning on releasing an album this year – you’re gonna have to go some distance to top this.
Demi is released in the US on May 14, but we in the UK have to sit tight until May 20.
source:x