In the last couple of years, it seems that pop-punk and hard rock music has been sneaking its way further into the mainstream pop sound. While metal and punk rooted bands like Bring Me The Horizon and The Devil Wears Prada began incorporating elements of alt-rock, pop, hip-hop, and electronica, artists such as Machine Gun Kelly, YUNGBLUD, and Demi Lovato are taking on heavier guitar sounds, lyrics, and styling themselves alternatively. There almost seems to be a reversal happening, and while the reception to long-time fans within respective genres is occasionally hit and miss, the trend of experimentation is great for music. While the implementation of alternative genres in pop music does pave a great road for further creativity, it’s not without its issues. The “carefree” characteristic often associated with punk tends to be misinterpreted as an endorsement for or romanticization of toxic behavior.
I’ve been following the rise of hard-rock influence in pop music for a while and while I generally enjoy a lot of the music I’ve come across in this journey, I must admit to becoming disturbed and jaded with the glorified toxicity within said forays that come primarily from straight/cis male artists. When I heard that Demi Lovato, both sober and recently out of the closet as non-binary, had released a pop-punk influenced record I had to check it out immediately. The results did not disappoint. In the 11 days between first listening to the record and typing this review, I’ve listened to the whole thing more times than I can count on both hands. The album, titled HOLY FVCK, officially dropped on August 19th, 2022 and it rocks significantly harder than you think it will.
To say that this album is pop-punk inspired is a drastic oversimplification. HOLY FVCK instead resembles more of an explosive, bombastic love-letter to every genre and era of alternative music. Tracks on the front end resemble more of the pop-punk sound people would expect; “SUBSTANCE” closely resembles the Blink-182 sound from their Take Off Your Pants and Jacket era, “SKIN OF MY TEETH” echoes Green Day’s American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown. However, as the record progresses, songs get increasingly more varied and heavy. The track “29” sounds like it could’ve been inspired by Pixies with biting lyrics, haunting choral harmonies, and a beautifully mixed combination of electric and acoustic guitars.
Perhaps the biggest surprise, however, is the track “HEAVEN” which almost immediately called to mind Motionless in White with bouncy drums, thundering distorted guitars and scratchy, growly, vocal inflections. “BONES” features insane chorus breakdowns using glitchy synths, distorted guitars, and metal influenced drums that could easily have been featured on Bring Me The Horizon’s POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL HORROR record.
Instrumentals aside, the lyrical quality featured on this album is poetic, inspired, and beautiful. Songs touch on healing from trauma, growth, sobriety, and calling out predatory behaviors with zero sugar-coating. There is a clear theme throughout these tracks of spitting in the face of those who abuse their power, as well as growing from past mistakes. Where other artists in this genre take an approach of blaming others or society in general for their hardships, Lovato walks the path of self-accountability. In songs where they call out past abusers, they refuse to be their victim. Many of the tracks feel like the lyrics were carefully read over, drafted and re-drafted, and chosen specifically to maximize impact. It’s not hard to see Lovato and their crew spending hours going over the material and making sure that every word says exactly what Lovato wants to communicate. The result is a collection of songs where no song sounds repetitive or tossed in as filler.
Amidst the torrent of alternative inspired pop-music, Demi Lovato has come along with a record that doesn’t just raise the bar, but power lifts it overhead, grapples it like a javelin, and throws it smashing through the ceiling. Where other mainstream artists adopt the style and aesthetic but ditch the critical thinking and perpetuate toxicity, Lovato encourages listeners to deconstruct destructive, toxic patterns of thinking and behaving; all while delivering a phenomenal tribute to every subgenre of rock music. If you’re looking for a record that will provide an absolute slapper of a soundtrack full of bangers as well as emotional highs and lows to cap off your summer and transition into fall, HOLY FVCK is the album for you.
Kellyn Kavanagh (they/he) is a local writer, photographer, and musician. They first started writing what they now know to be flash fiction stories in the third grade when they learned how to make little books with a couple sheets of printer paper and a stapler. Their work typically focuses on non-ficiton journalism, short horror fiction, and very depressing poetry.