Entertainment

Albums: New music from Demi Lovato, Matthew E White, The Fratellis and Cheap Trick

Demi Lovato's album Dancing with the Devil... the Art of Starting Over
Demi Lovato's album Dancing with the Devil... the Art of Starting Over Demi Lovato's album Dancing with the Devil... the Art of Starting Over

DEMI LOVATO – DANCING WITH THE DEVIL… THE ART OF STARTING OVER

DANCING With The Devil, Lovato's seventh album, kicks off with a candid trio of songs detailing her "fall from grace". ICU (Madison's Lullaby) finds her waking in an intensive care unit before the album pivots to a hefty 15 tracks about self-love and self-discovery.

The album is full of heartbreaking moments that catch you off guard. Melon Cake details how, as a young star, cake was banned on her birthdays: she would instead be served a watermelon topped with icing.

Dancing With The Devil even features guests: Ariana Grande, another former child star who has trodden a difficult path to fame, is joined by Noah Cyrus, Sam Fischer and Saweetie on a series of mainly forgettable second-half tracks.

Met Him Last Night with Grande is one of the album's weaker moments, descending into impressive but oddly unaffecting vocal runs.

Lovato is at her best when she is dissecting her past traumas and future loves without distraction.

Rating: 4/5


Alex Green

THE FRATELLIS – HALF DRUNK UNDER A FULL MOON

BACK with a head full of ideas, a belting title and an urge to party post-lockdown, The Fratellis are ready to blow away the blues.

From the opening semi-nonsensical title track, with its delirious, Neil Diamond-meets-Toast of London chorus of "Yes!", to the lush closer Hello Stranger – both comfortably over the five-minute mark – the album draws from a wider palette than ever before and is the richer for it.

The latter is one of several songs to revisit the Starcrossed Losers characters from 2018's previous album In Your Own Sweet Time, who also share the dancefloor on Strangers In The Street and the euphoric but deceptive "train wreck honeymoon" of lead single Six Days In June, one of the standout tracks among a staggeringly strong and varied set.

Living In The Dark's chorus offers up a whiff of old-style Costello Music, while Need A Little Love and Lay Your Body Down also shine. "Yes!"

Rating: 3/5


Tom White

MATTHEW E WHITE & LONNIE HOLLEY – BROKEN MIRROR: A SELFIE REFLECTION

THIS collaboration between artist and musician Lonnie Holley and singer-songwriter Matthew E White is like nothing else, a soundclash of free jazz, blues, funk and performance poetry.

For this recording, 71-year-old Holley sang complete first takes to music performed by White and his band which he had never heard before. He speaks, sings and chants the lyrics over urgent percussion, ominous washes of keyboards and jagged guitars.

The results are fresh and spontaneous on five lengthy tracks, with the opening This Here Jungle Of Moderness/Composition 14 immediately dragging you from your comfort zone.

The title track clocks in at over 10 minutes, as Holley examines the narcissism of pandering for social media likes. I'm Not Tripping has a minimal backing of burbling synths, and Holley's gravelly voice dominates the final track, Get Up! Walk With Me, with White adding a dub sensibility.

Not for those who prefer conventional song structures or straightforward lyrics, this album will suit those with an open mind.

Rating: 3/5


Matthew George

CHEAP TRICK – IN ANOTHER WORLD

YOU would think that after five decades Cheap Trick would be repeating themselves. But somehow the band, who emerged out of Rockford, Illinois, in 1973, continue to push the envelope on each album.

That being said, on their 20th studio album the quartet are working with familiar themes:

Power pop, hard rock and edgy punk combine with their trademark court jester mentality to create 13 tracks of enjoyable music.

On Quit Waking Me Up, the band dip into ska punk, a genre thankfully not heard from much nowadays. A cover of John Lennon's sardonic anthem Gimme Some Truth closes the album, with added guitar solo.

Cheap Trick have already secured their place in the musical pantheon – they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.

Be glad their lust for music has not faded over time.

Rating: 3/5


Alex Green