Moving
into heavier territory has always been on the cards for her, beginning
her musical career in the Disney days with polished pop-rock before
moving into mainstream pop. Last year, she went full circle with her
heaviest work yet on the pure pop-punk, even hard rock, of 2022's Holy Fvck. REVAMPED continues
this journey while it remembers the past with a rockstar reimagining of
her biggest singles from throughout her career in a new, rockier style.
Holy Fvck was
a great album, one of the best from the post-Covid pop-punk revival
era. It was heavy, cathartic and wholly authentic. So on paper, REVAMPED should
have the same sense of freedom as Lovato’s previous genre
transformation. Unfortunately, though, it’s an album of missed
opportunities in which Lovato seems to take a musical step backwards in
their career.
Lovato
had an opportunity here to take their old music to extreme new places,
on this album, had they chosen to keep up the hard-rock momentum we
heard on Holy Fvck. Instead, these songs are given only a vague electronic-rock sheen. In some cases, it works a treat. REVAMPED opens
with “Heart Attack”, one of Lovato’s strongest numbers which is made
somehow even punchier, even more powerful than it was before. Later on,
“Skyscraper” is equally improved with the addition of heavier guitars
and incredible vocals, without totally giving up the original piano.
Disappointingly, though, these are the only two real improvements on REVAMPED. Aside
from these gems, the difference between these rock versions and the
originals is only slight, with nowhere near enough of a musical
departure to rewrite history.
Songs
like “Confident”, “Sorry Not Sorry” and “Neon Lights” are underwhelming
and overproduced. There’s always the sense that something is missing –
some bolder instrumentals and messier vocals would have been welcome.
While there are impressive guest stars throughout the record (Slash and
Nita Strauss provide some particularly impressive work), you can’t help
but feel that their contributions would have been more significant on
new music.
REVAMPED could
have been genius. Lovato’s move to heavier music is by no means a
mistake, but this reimagining of her old music feels artificial. Generic
pop music is turned into formulaic rock music, lacking the substance
and authenticity of her previous album. Perhaps if Holy Fvck had been a less impressive album, REVAMPED wouldn’t feel like a weaker album. But knowing the kind of rock music that Demi Lovato is capable of is what makes REVAMPED an overall disappointment.
