Demi Lovato released her second album this week titled Here We Go Again. First good news is that the Jonas Brothers influence is heavily reduced on this album. Nothing bad about the Jonas Brothers but Demi needs to find her own sound. With around 47 minutes this is an average length album and just proof that record companies have forgotten that a CD holds 80 minutes of music. Makes you especially wonder when a John Mayer song is left off the album and they stick the rather short Sonny With a Chance intro on there.
The name was already dropped; John Mayer, Demi didn’t do a half ass job of the album and worked with serious people. Which helps getting rid of the earlier mentioned Jonas sound. Her aim was that this album should become more Demi but do we truly know Demi after hearing this album? I don’t think so, in the past she has said that some of the music she writes wouldn’t have a place on a Disney label and that probably is still true. It’s still a commercial business and selling albums is still an aim of it all so that’s only logical. Like with the track Got Dynamite, you expect it to go into a far darker after hearing the beginning of the song. It has a far rougher sound than the other songs.
That is something that has to be said of the album, unlike some other artists you get the impression that actual music instruments were involved in the studio recordings. Though it seems to be becoming more and more common with younger artists. Demi’s singing doesn’t seem overproduced either but natural. While that wasn’t the case on her first album either there were some things about her singing on that. In certain cases the songs seemed too focused on doing as much voice exercises as possible, making it sound forced. I’m glad to say that this isn’t the case on Here We Go Again making it sound far more natural and relaxed.
So what songs stand out? For me two songs stand out in a negative way, the earlier mentioned So Far So Great which just shouldn’t be on there and Gift of a Friend. The last one isn’t a bad song, far from it but it just doesn’t fit on the album, it would be far better placed on a Disney soundtrack for some sort of fairy tale movie. That’s the vibe the song gives. Though it’s probably the song that illustrates best how little they did with her voice in editing. You don’t expect it from a label like Hollywood Records but apparently they understand that people don’t just want over-synthesized fake singers.
Now to the positive parts, the title track might seem like a logical choice but I’m not that fond of it and it turns out it’s one of the few songs where Demi had no writing involvement. It’s not a bad song, like none of the tracks are really but it doesn’t jump out either. If I had to pick the top songs of the album I would say Solo, Falling Over Me and World of Chances (the John Mayer track) which strangely enough all have a different sound. That is actually a positive aspect of the album, there is some variation on it. While everything can be classified as pop and pop rock there is still some variation in the music.
I’m also glad to report that while Demi is only sixteen years old she doesn’t feel the need to only sing about the problems of teenagers. Last year she claimed to not really have song writing skills, either she was lying or she is a quick study. Though there is only one song where she’s listed as the only writer, I have to admit that Catch Me isn’t the best track on the album though.
So how to rate the album? It is an improvement on the previous album, that is one thing that is certain. She shows clear development as an artist and is looking for a sound of her own. If I have to point out fault on the album is that there maybe are not quite enough songs that really stick out, songs where you think “wow”. Though that also might be a sign of the average quality of the song just being high. Besides the Sonny With a Chance intro there aren’t really songs on it where you rush to the skip button on your mp3 or CD player. So the final rating is four out of five. Now lets hope that Demi keeps up her evolution as a musician.
Tags: Demi Lovato
