Just got Avril Lavigne's new album, The Best Damn Thing, but it's certainly not my best damn thing. Her songs are pretty decent, mainstream radio-friendly pop, which is not my thing. I'm pretty anti-POP [gazette reference, couldn't help it.]

Girlfriend is just... eurgh, pink and black hearts floating around. No doubt, it's catchy, and there are times I find myself singing aloud to this simple song, and the music video is pretty funny too. But the one thing I don't quite get is this: Lavigne is supposedly in her twenties, 23, I think, and apparently married to this Sum 41 member, which I will refrain from naming because honestly, I forgot his name and do not want to risk being blasted by their fans and am too lazy to check it up on wiki. [phew, run-on sentence there.] So WHY THE HECK is she singing a song that seems more appropriate for pre-teens to teens wanna-be cheerleaders? [Guilty note: I quite like the line, 'She's like so whatever' heh.]

With unbelievably vapid lyrics, the second track 'I Can Do Better' is not any better, can you just say teenage angst? I'm not too sure, but she seems to be stuck in a mental age of 17/18, but isn't it time to like, grow up or something?

'Runaway' reminds me of her first album, Let Go. Pop-ish sounds with tons of guitar riffs, bass and drums. Pretty decent, but boring, quite a safe track for those who prefer Avril of the old.

'The Best Damn Thing'... is just an outright cheerleader song. I rolled my eyes at the verses, but the chorus is pretty nice. Very whining, and somehow I felt a sense of deja vu... at her supposed rap part... >.> Her voice, during the chorus, seems more matured, then the whiny voice she uses in previous tracks like Girlfriend, I Can Do Better...

It is in 'When You're Gone' where we see a more mellow Avril, as compared to the previous airhead image that she projects. An angsty song, but there's more depths. I think, it is here that she showcases her maturing voice. But the lyrics still make me cringe. I'm not a big fan of songs that deal with love and heartache...

"Everything Back But You' sounds like her previous albums, the theme is once again, love. Apparently, it's about this guy who cheated on her with some other girl that she conveniently calls a 'bitch' and 'slut'. But whatever.

The lyrics on 'Hot' just make me cringe even more. Granted, Avril is no poet or writer, but these lyrics just make me go: wtf was she on when she wrote these appalling lyrics? Maybe she's trying to make it rhyme or something, but yeah, it's so ridiculous. I quote from her song. But it's a decent pop song.

Another mellow-ish piece, 'Innocence' is alright, and here, we catch another rare glimpse of a maturing Avril, though the lyrics are not spectacular nor is the melody particularly good, but I pretty like this song, as it's a change from the pop princess image she's been portraying in like majority of the tracks.

'I Don't Have to Try' opens with a rap, which is quite cute in my opinion. Here, she tries to recreate her I-don't-give-a-damn attitude which might have worked if not for the other pop-ish tracks that disagrees with this attitude.

I just don't get it; didn't Avril used to dislike being lumped with the other pop singers around her age? Why is her style so pop and shallow and just basically everything that she said she was not. Sum 41 is a punk rock band, you would think her music would be more rock-ish, but no, she had to try and get onto the mainstream pop wagon. >.<

6 out of 10, because there are some redeeming tracks out there, and because she's Avril, and I like it. Just not the way her music's going. You just have to like her defiant style, with her cocky attitude and in-your-face personality. But still, you have all the right to hit me when I start singing 'Girlfriend' to everyone.

Labels: music/poem, rant