Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne’s newly released self-titled album doesn’t shows much promise for the Canadian pop rocker. With the new album comes a transformation for Lavigne. She ditched her pink glittered skirts for black leather pants and adapted a more mature look for this stage of her musical career. However, the same cannot be said about her music. While some songs show her development, most are still teenybopper material, leaving Lavigne in an awkward stage as an artist.
The album opens with its party anthem, “Rock N Roll.” The song is the perfect dance jam and the beat is contagious. However, the lyrics contain a number of clichés and have no deeper meaning. Although fun, spunky and catchy, the song provides no indication of Lavigne’s evolving sound. It easily could’ve been featured on 2007’s The Best Damn Thing and offers nothing in the way of musical novelty.
“Here’s to Never Growing Up,” the album’s first single, has the same issue. Although it has the classic Avril sound and plays well on the radio, it isn’t anything special or memorable. The track definitely won’t be spoken about in 20 years because it doesn’t provide listeners with anything extraordinary or moving. It’s just another immature filler song.
Other songs such as “17,” “Hello Kitty” and “Sippin’ on Sunshine” leave the same impression: Cute yet insubstantial, enjoyable yet forgettable. They are songs to be appreciated merely in passing.
This is not to say that every song off the album is a fluff piece. A couple of tracks stand out as strong, worthwhile ballads.
“Give You What You Like” has a more retro sound than anything else Lavigne has created. Likewise, “Hush Hush” stands out as one of Lavigne’s more mature songs with its sincere lyrics, piano melody and raw voice.
But “Let Me Go” is the song that actually gives Lavigne the chance to shine. The lyrics are pure, the instrumentals are soft and her voice inspires chills. What gives the song such an edge is Lavigne’s collaboration on the track with her husband, Nickelback front man Chad Kroeger. Kroeger and Lavigne’s harmonies are sweet and their voices work well together. All in all, the duet is beautiful and full of emotion.
Another more shocking collaboration is heard in the song “Bad Girl” featuring Marilyn Manson. This song is harsher than anything Lavigne has ever done before and seems more appropriate for Taylor Momsen’s band The Pretty Reckless. While decent, the drastic shift in style raises the question: Does Lavigne know what she wants to do with her music? Does she want to focus on dance-pop party anthems or harsher rock tracks? Is she trying to keep her juvenile sound or move in a more mature direction? Frankly, it seems as if she is as unsure as we are.
