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The past few years have been a rollercoaster for everyone on the planet.
Stresses multiplied, chaos ensued, and people went to great lengths to cope.
No one got to 2021 without incident.
Some fared worse than others.
Maintaining composure was hard; sometimes, crumbling made sense.
The series and thenew albumDancing With the Devil… Shes on a different path now, embracing a jarring and totalizing honesty.
She broke up with her fiance.
She came out as pansexual.
Its a messy business thats handled with unusual grace and poise.
Abandoning the old, safe, controlled narrative has worked wonders, but its the exploration that makesStarting Overgreat.
Suddenly, theres a skip in its step and a lilt in the vocals.
Steadying the album through its many twists is a voice that seems to delight in bucking the changes.
On the psych-tinged Carefully, its light and limber.
The Art of Starting Over rides taut, percussive notes to a soaring hook.
Melon Cake balances breathy and wryly funny verses with a big crooning chorus, like a Katy Perry song.
Dancing With the Devil affects salaciousness through booming blue notes.
The audible snark in 15 Minutes is for an ex whos been kicked to the curb.
Starting Overis a delicate balancing act on many fronts.
(Its interesting having new bellwethers emerge as tastes shift.
Demi Lovato is changing, and it looks to be for the better.
But its time for us to change as well.
