by Adam (Toronto, Canada) - Each week I preview an album which I think deserves a listen to and if it's worth to buy, I will cater for all tastes of music from R'n'B to Rock, Hip hop and Pop.
Avril Lavigne - Under My Skin
Release Date: 25 May, 2004
With her breakthrough 2002 debut, Let Go, Avril Lavigne tried to market herself as the bona fide alternative to tarty teen queens, Britney and Christina. Her guitar-pop hits were irresistibly bratty but the whole "Complicated" teen pose was a little hard to swallow, especially since two songwriters called the Matrix - who had at least twenty years on the Canadian singer - fed her most of the material. Having had the chance to live a little, Lavigne returns to make good on her angsty image with
Under My Skin, an album rippling with delightfully dour melodies and heartfelt lyrics about loneliness ("How Does It Feel") and fractured relationships ("Don't Tell Me"). Is it cliched? Sure. Will it scare off her necktie and t-shirt wearing fans? Possibly. But there's nothing quite as satisfying as watching a teen-pop icon actually reveal her soul.
It is obvious by the first hearing that Avril has grown so much since her 1st album. The songs on Under My Skin are so lyrically and musically awesome. Chantal Kreviazuk, Ben Moody, Evan Taubenfeld, and all the others Avril worked with made this album so great. They all have so much talent and if you read the lyrics it shows.
Many people described this album as "the best break-up cd" and I agree. All the anger and pain guys cause us girls comes across so well in Avril's songs.
Avril with this new effort touches with full success an oldier audience: people who appreciate good music. On this new album I notice a few tunes that utilize some new vocal harmonies that oldier people really like - such as "Don't Tell Me" and "How Does it Feel" (my favorite tune on the entire CD; a very nice song with great harmony, nice lyrics, etc.).
Avril Lavigne made her debut in 2002 with the multi-platinum album 'Let Go.' It featured 13 Radio-ready songs, and was powered by the singles "Complicated" "Sk8er Boi" "I'm With You" and "Losing Grip". Over the 2 years since her absence, she toured world wide gaining credibility as a performer and an artist. "Let Go" was the pop hit of 2002, but "Under My Skin" is worthy much more (maybe a Grammy nomination?) This guitar driven record, leaves most of her pop-roots behind, except in her first single, "Dont Tell Me" and embarks on a journey of respect as a musician. Working on every aspect of this record, from the string arrangements, the lyrics, the piano, and of course the guitar, Avril Lavigne advances and deffinetly goes inside her skin to reveal the insecurities, problems, and relationships we never knew she had.
Overall, Under My Skin is a decent disc. There are many good songs on the album, with catchy chorus, some great hooks and a song that fits her voice style.
That is one of my biggest complaints with this CD. Avril Lavigne can really sing much better. Hence, a lot of the songs sound alike. If you like her voice and the scratchiness/strain of some of her vocals, you will fall in love with this CD. She frequently sounds like she's whining on the higher vocals, but the grittiness of her style shines in some of the songs ("He Wasn't," the single "Don't Tell Me," "Freak Out").
Lyrically, which is what I really look for in music, the disc is a mixed bag. Highlights are "My Happy Ending," "How Does it Feel," and "Who Knows." Though still laced with cliche, these are probably the strongest lyrically.
Sophomoric efforts include the single "Don't Tell Me," "Freak Out," and "Take Me Away." I mean, honestly: "I cannot find a way to describe it, it's there inside, all I do is hide, I wish it would just go away, what would you do if you knew" - how many times have we heard these lyrics?
You know those wonderful moments when a lyricist puts a brilliant new spin on a traditional phrase and you're so thankful you got to hear the song? No such moments are in this disc.
I do like "Happy Ending" because of the spin it puts on the traditional fairy tale phrase. "How Does it Feel" is a tad more mature, doesn't sound so whiny (but you know, as I listen to it, it's pretty stinking cliche too... all the way through it) and "Who Knows," while cliche, has some nice moments. Gosh, who am I kidding? Every song has very cliche pathetic moments lyrically.
My real question is, how many na-na's, hey, hey, hey's, and oh-oh's can you cram into a 40 minute disc? I think she may be attempting to discover that answer...
Avril is out there battling with the artists who are stripping and singing about how sexual they are (Britney, Christina etc.)
Avril isn't doing it.
As a musiclover, I appreciate that. I appreciate that her first single is about the opposite; that a lot of her songs are boy-bashing and honest, almost innocent.
That is probably the flaw lyrically. It's borderline innocent and immature but desires to be more mature. But I was genuinely surprised at the hearfelt "Slipped Away" dedicated to her grandfather.
However, I believe Avril makes the same mistake Alanis did on this second album: her lyrics become a bit more vague and not well thought-out, as if she believes her audience has not matured along with her. Gone is the meaningful depth of her lyrics; instead, she chooses to tell you, in very simple non-poetic language, how bored she is ("He Wasn't"), or in very early high-school language how she feels about a particular boy, ("Don't Tell me") (although that one could also be directed at the Britneys and Christina's of the world). The music is very good, but the words are bland.
Dumbing the Matrix group as co-writers was probably a good thing, but if Avril doesn't grow up with her listeners, she'll end up being a thirty-something women still singing about teen-age boys in half-filled clubs. Take an example from Alanis: only now is she finding her musical soul again...
Avril, don't make the mistake of underestimating your audience: just because they may be young doesn't mean they are not complex!
Some highlights:
- 'Take Me Away' is awesome song with the chorus rocks and verses setting very nice.
- 'Together' has lyrics very meaningful, the pre-chorus is my favourite part. many teachers in Canada starts to use this song for the 'Poetry Project in English,' which is kinda cool!
- Who can't love Avril's first single 'Don't Tell Me'? Unless you hear it so often you get sick of it. Well, I was close, until I decided to stop listening to it for a while, & hey, that works. I still really love it!
- 'My Happy Ending' is the best track on this cd in my opinion.
- 'Fall to Pieces' is catchy, meaningful and only little too personal...
- 'Freak Out' represents the Avril which all the teenagers know and love.
- 'Slipping Away' is a great ballad, the slowest song on the album and the radio DJ's will love it in the near future.
Note: Avril wrote 'Fall to Pieces' with Raine Maida (Our Lady Peace). Also she wrote Together/He Wasn't/How Does It Feel/Forgotten/Who Knows/Slipped Away with Chantal Kreviazuk. The album includes a free mini poster with 2 sides, ones the cover, & ones just another picture of her. Very pretty!
7/10
Tracklisting:
1. Take Me Away 8/10
2. Together 6/10
3. Don't Tell Me 8/10
4. He Wasn't 7/10
5. How Does It Feel? 8/10
6. My Happy Ending 9/10 (Second Single)
7. Nobody's Home (with Ben Moody) - 8/10
8. Forgotten 6/10
9. Who Knows 4/10
10.Fall To Pieces 6/10
11.Freak Out 5/10
12.Slipped Away 7/10
* 13. I Always Get What I Want - 6/10 (this is a UK bonus track)
