Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 07/21/2009
Like
Britney Spears before her,
Demi Lovato pretty much admits in the title of her sophomore album that she's serving up more of the same the second time around, but unlike
Britney, that may not have been
Demi's intention. For
Here We Go Again,
Lovato makes a relatively clean break from the
Jonas Brothers, who penned much of her debut,
Don't Forget, drafting sensitive AAA singer/songwriters
Jon McLaughlin and
John Mayer presumably to give
Lovato a bit of mature veneer, a subtle shift buried underneath the relentlessly cheerful
Radio Disney production and
Lovato's irrepressible spunk. Both sonic characteristics tend to camouflage
Demi's biggest moves away from teen pop -- the fussy balladeering of
"Falling Over Me," the mock-
Mraz jazz-pop
"Every Time You Lie," the sober soul searching of the
Mayer collaboration
"World of Chances," the Celtic flair of
"Gift of a Friend" -- which also happen to be the very things that make
Here We Go Again not quite as much fizzy fun as
Don't Forget. Not quite as much fun, but still fun, particularly when
Lovato tears into hooky power pop like
"Here We Go Again," "Solo," "Remember December," and the stomping
"So Far So Great," the theme song to the TV show
Sonny with a Chance, songs that are ideally matched to
Lovato's adolescent energy and spirit, which remain her most appealing qualities.
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
;)
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