Avril Lavigne, the pop-punk “it girl” of the 2000s, bursted into the music scene in 2002 with her first LP “Let Go,” which features some of her most notable songs like “Complicated” and “Sk8ter Boi.” The artist returned to the music scene with her first album since 2019, almost as if she never left. Lavigne’s newest album “Love Sux” made me feel like I was a character in an early 2000s movie, but strictly the part of the movie where I just find out that my boyfriend cheated on me, and I completely change my appearance to make him jealous and want me back.
The first song on the album “Cannonball,” gets the show rolling. It’s fast-paced, loud and full of rage. I was not a fan of the introduction to this song, as I contemplated skipping it only a few seconds into the song. However, the catchiness of the chorus did make up for the rough start. The album continues with the song “Bois Lie,” which features Machine Gun Kelly. This song keeps the tone for the album that was set in the previous song with intense use of drums throughout the song. The third song on the album, “Bite Me” is easily one of my favorites. This song almost makes me want to go through a terrible breakup just so I can relate to it on a deeper level and feel the rage that fills the artist as she sings this particular song. Another song that I really enjoyed on this album was “Love When You Hate Me,” featuring blackbear. This is one of those songs that you listen to once and it gets stuck in your head for the next three days. Blackbear’s verse on this song is a nice little change of pace for the album while still keeping up with the tone of the rest of the album.
One song that felt out of place on the album to me was “Kiss Me Like the World Is Ending.” Don’t get me wrong this is by no means a bad song, however it just does not fit the vibe of the rest of the album. In an album that is filled with multiple breakup anthems, a song about wanting to be with someone at the end of the world just does not belong. If the album had more songs about love, or if it was not just about the heartache and anger that comes with a breakup then “Kiss Me Like the World Is Ending,” would be a great song on this album, but since that is not the case so it should not be on this album in my opinion.
Overall, this was a good album where Avril Lavigne reminds her fans why they fell in love with her music 20 years ago. With songs like “Bois Lie,” “Bite Me,” and “Luv Sux” that use intense use of drums and guitar similar to her earlier songs like “Girlfriend” and “My Happy Ending,” Lavigne treats her fans to music that gives them a sense of nostalgia as they listen. She also mixes things up with slower and more heartfelt songs on the album like “Avalanche” and “Dare to Love Me,” which makes the album more relatable to listeners, because it shows all aspects of a heartbreak.
