Demi Lovato, HOLY FVCK | Album Review 💿

Demi Lovato delivers one of the most surprising albums of 2022 with HOLY FVCK, arguably, the best album of their career.

Holy f#¢k, 🎙 Demi Lovato is one of the most honest musicians in the game – probably, too honest, at times. That characteristic hasn’t changed as the 🏆 Grammy-nominated musician unveils their 2022 studio album, 💿 HOLY FVCK. What has changed, however, is the style as the nonbinary musician (who’s once more embraced she/her pronouns, as well as they) finds Lovato joining the pop-punk train. Does it work for her on HOLY FVCK? Yep – much better than expected. Lovato has the vocal chops and bio for pop-punk.  Over the years, she’s struggled with addiction, something that has graced many of their songs including the first single, 🎵 “SKIN OF MY TEETH”. All told, HOLY FVCK ends up being one of the biggest surprises of 2022 and a highly effective, about-face for Lovato. 

“Freak” 

“Came for the trauma, stayed for the drama.” Well, holy fizzuck, HOLY FVCK commences with a bang! Demi Lovato sets the tone on 🤩 🎵 “Freak,” which features 🎙 YUNGBLUD.  Before YUNGBLUD enters in the second verse, Demi goes to work with biting, edgy lyrics which establish “the freak show.” The centerpiece is the chorus, which features aggressive lyrics, roaring guitars, and no shortage of energy, particularly when both join forces: “Am what I am and what I am is a piece of meat / Take a bite just to watch me bleed / Freak.”

“Demi leaves rehab again / When is this shit gonna end?” 🤩 🎵 “SKIN OF MY TEETH” first indicated that Lovato was jumping on the pop-punk train.  Like the opener, it marks another successful moment, with the musician being brutally honest in the gargantuan, guitar-heavy chorus:

“I’m alive by the skin of my teeth

I survived, but it got harder to breathe

Askin’ why doesn’t make it easier

Go easier on me

Goddamn it, I just wanna be free

But I can’t ‘cause it’s a fuckin’ disease

I’m alive by the skin of my—.”

Lovato penned “SKIN OF MY TEETH” with 🎼 ✍ 🎛 OAK (also produces), 🎼 ✍ Keith Sorrells, 🎼 ✍ Laura Veltz, 🎼 ✍ lil aaron, and 🎼 ✍ Alex Niceforo. Demi kills it vocally and also thrives thanks to the theme and lyrics (addiction), high-flying vocals, electrifying production, and her artistry and personality.

Appears in 🔻:

• Teeth: 3 or 4 BOPS No. 13 (2022)
• Awesome Songs: June 2022

“Substance”

🤩 🎵 “Substance” successfully keeps the holy fvckery going strong! Substance” features a driving groove, idiomatic of pop-punk. Lovato delivers quick-paced melodic lines in the verses (“Is anybody happy with life in the back seat? / Trying to master the art of detaching”). Woo! She doesn’t deprive us of profanity, asserting, “Woah, I know we’re all fucking exhausted / Woah, am I in my head, or have we lost it all.” I love the sound of Lovato’s vocals in the chorus when they ascend in their upper register. The chorus is tuneful, plus, Demi is still fired up AF: “Don’t wanna end up in a casket, head full of maggots / Body full of jack shit, I get in abundance / Am I the only one looking for substance?” The writing possesses punk energy and is pertinent to Lovato’s situation.  The bridge finds Demi in her element – showing off mad range. Another success for Lovato.

Arguably, 🤩 🎵 “Eat Me” featuring 🎙 Royal & the Serpent, bests singles 🎵 “SKIN OF MY TEETH” and 🎵 “Substance”.  Lovato keeps things dark and tortured – the perfect aesthetic. Here, they comment about how others have instructed her to act as well as told her who to be.  Specifically, they seem to reference nonbinary status: “Is this what you’d prefer? / Would you like me better if I was still her?” The chorus, unsurprisingly, is the crowning achievement, featuring a change of groove, quicker tempo, and some sickening, upper-register vocals.  The key lyrics of this standout include, “I know the girl that you adored / She’s dead, it’s time to fucking mourn,” and, “You’ll have to eat me as I am.” Woo! HOLY FVCK!

“HOLY FVCK”

“I’ll bring you to life / I’m a holy fuck, I’m a holy fuck (Fuck).” Obviously, when the name of the album is HOLY FVCK, you must prepare your virgin ears to be deflowered by f-bombs.  Also, it’s only fitting that there should be a title track. 🤩 🎵 “HOLY FVCK” arrives as the fifth track on the album, and it sounds idiomatic of a hard rock record.  The lyrics are sinful, referencing spiritual things, though often in an evil, blasphemous context (“‘Cause my body’s the communion / Take a bite of what I’m doing”).  This is intentional and part of the brilliance of this title track.  And holy f#¢k, what about those jagged, robust guitars!

🤩 🎵 “29,” one of the best of the bests of HOLY FVCK, marks a change of pace. Lovato gets ‘heavy’ on a ballad about consent. “Finally twenty-nine / Funny, just like you were at the time,” she sings in the chorus, adding, “Thought it was a teenage dream, just a fantasy / But was it yours or was it mine / Seventeen, twenty-nine.” This one is specific, isn’t it 🎭 Wilmer Valderrama? “29” is an important, thought-provoking record – one of the more notable moments in an illustrious catalog.

The beat rolls on in 🎵 “Happy Ending,” where Lovato seeks just that.  They’ve been through their fair share of struggles.  Demi has sought God, and felt like it didn’t work for her, experienced substance abuse, and became sober, but “miss(es) [her] vices.”  Her point is, that even though finding happiness is arduous and seems impossible, she’s still working hard to attain it. Again, her honesty and transparency are greatly appreciated. 🤩 🎵 “Heaven” sounds hellish 😈, which is intentional.  Demi knows she’s lived and living a sinful life, something this slickly produced, infernal soundtrack perfectly captures.  Despite her miscues, she still hopes she’s forgiven, though she’s having a ‘Hell’ of a time in the chorus:

“Crucified for the life I’m living

Oh, my God, hope I’m forgiven

Going to hell ‘cause it feels like heaven

Speaking in tongues to release my demons

I can’t help it, guess I’m a heathen

Going to hell ‘cause it feels like heaven.”

“City of Angels” 

Spirituality has been a recurrent theme of HOLY FVCK.  That doesn’t change on 🎵 “City of Angels,” among the brightest songs from the album.  Spirituality isn’t the primary theme, but there are intentional ideas. Demi sings about Los Angeles, referencing specific places and describing how she feels about it (“I’m bored to tears, there’s nothing left to do / This town is heaven-sent / But better when I’m facedown under you”). Woo! Besides characterizing it as heaven-sent, Lovato asserts that they’re christening it during the chorus… This is one of the more fun moments. 🎵 “Bones” keeps the same energy, adding some, um, thirst to the mix! “Let me jump your bones / Start to lose control / Taking off your clothes / No one has to know.” Holy fizzuck! Ah, there’s nothing more fulfilling and stimulating than a rocking joint about sex, right? Right! “Bones” features beastly production too.

Addiction rears its ugly head on 🤩 🎵 “Wasted.” That’s to be expected from Lovato given her history of substance abuse. That said, Demi doesn’t focus as much on their demons as they have in the past. In this powerful record, they assert, “The highest high can’t hold a candle to / Getting wasted on you.” Essentially, being in love with someone is much more fulfilling and substantive than being addicted to drugs.  It’s a great message with a sweet melody and a high-flying vocal. 🎵 “Come Together” has a tough act to follow – “Wasted” ranks among the crème de la crème.  “Come Together” ends up being another success, set in a major key with no shortage of guitars, impressive vocals, and intensity.  “Come Together” isn’t the first song I’d revisit from HOLY FVCK, but it is consistent without a hitch.

“Dead Friends” 

“I miss the hell we can’t raise, I miss the time we can’t waste / I miss the texts they can’t send, I miss my dead friends.” 🤩 🎵 “Dead Friends” finds Demi honoring friends she’s lost over the years, wishing she could see and spend time with them once again.  While this subject matter would typically be perfect material for a ballad, instead, we get this awesome, up-tempo pop-punk joint that screams to keep it on repeat.  Lovato soars here which is somewhat surprising considering “Dead Friends” arrives late in the track list. 🎵 “Help Me” featuring 🎙 Dead Sara maintains intrigue, 14 tracks in. 🎙 Emily Armstrong’s turned-up vocals, coupled with alluring songwriting make “Help Me” another bright spot.

“One wolf howls while the other one sings / One wolf soothes while the other one stings.” Wow! The penultimate record 🤩 🎵 “Feed” fits the concept of HOLY FVCK perfectly. How so? Well, Lovato seems to toy with the idea of good and bad, heavenly, and hellish throughout the LP.  Here, she’s in a similar position, best exemplified by the powered-up chorus:

“My demons are on the hunt

But my angels taught me how to run

I got two wolves inside of me

But I decide which one to feed.”

“Feed” excels because of a relatable theme, sound production work, and elite vocals.  Lovato concludes HOLY FVCK with the respectable 🎵 “4 Ever 4 Me,” which provides great resolution.  With HOLY FVCK stirring in so much pain and internal struggle, “4 Ever 4 Me” finds Lovato working toward that happy ending she sings about earlier: “I can’t hold back, I’ve fallen in love / It’s been right on the tip of my tongue / So here I go speaking honestly / I think this is forever for me.”

Final Thoughts 💭 

Holy f#¢k, HOLY FVCK was a trip, Demi Lovato! And let me just add that that trip was absolutely holy fvcking awesome! All told, Lovato delivers one of the most surprising albums of 2022. It is arguably the best album of their career, something I never expected to say coming into this project.  The voice was never in doubt in my mind.  The execution was always where I was skeptical.  But guess what? In a 16-track album, Demi never misses the mark. HOLY FVCK is a blast!

🤩 Gems 💎: “Freak,” “SKIN OF MY TEETH”, “Substance”, “Eat Me,” “HOLY FVCK,” “29,” “Heaven,” “Wasted” & “Feed”

🎙 Demi Lovato • 💿 HOLY FVCK • 🏷 Island • 🗓 8.19.22

[📷: Island]