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MUSICBOX: Beat on the brat
Avril Lavigne, the rebellious chick who challenged the sexed-up regime of teen pop queen Britney Spears with the raw energy of her music and ruggedness of her attitude, has released Under My Skin, her sophomore album. It clearly shows she still means business. The precocious confessions of her adolescent mind are fully manifested in the new record. Avril’s vivacious vocal chords and guitar-oriented music are confirmation of her considerable talents. This disc is a mile ahead of her debut album, Let Go, because whilst the singer has matured as a vocalist and song-writer, she has stuck to the nuts and bolts and has tried her hand at things a little less “complicated” this time around.
Avril reveals the essence of the soul under her skin quite outstandingly. She is emotional without being mushy; expressive without being sappy. The first single, Don’t Tell Me, carries a profound message for young girls to stand up for themselves. This song is reminiscent of the feminist issues that Alanis Morissette raised with her albums Jagged Little Pill and Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie. Avril does show her wild side as well, with tracks like He Wasn’t and Freak Out. The album opener, Take Me Away, is actually about the personal struggle of a girl trying to avoid heartbreaks.
Towards the end of the 45-minute album, the artist shows an unparalleled ripeness with How Does It Feel, a touching ballad in which Avril talks about her seclusion. Ben Moody (former Evanescence member) features in the song Nobody’s Home and the piano-flavoured Together features fellow-Canadian singer Chantal Kreviazuk. She sweetly dedicates the concluding number, Slipped Away, to her late granddad. The song is melancholic and its heartfelt cornucopia of passions makes one want to cry with the singer.
Under My Skin gives Avril the canvas to reveal what’s really under her skin and to vent her passions and emotions on a public podium. She sounds mature, her lyrics make more sense and her music sounds more intense. The 12 tracks on the disc are composed well and the mix, consisting of heavier tracks as well as the emotional melodies, are an immaculate blend, with the ability to strike the hearts of young and old alike.
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With the release of Catalyst, New Found Glory’s hottest album to date, which has seemingly catalyzed the reaction of their ultimate accomplishment almost instantaneously, it should put doubts regarding their musical flair to rest. At least for the moment. The band’s resonant sound bears a resemblance to that of pop-punk rockers like Good Charlotte and Sum 41.But one feels that the substance and essence of their lyrics is deficient and orbits only around limited past experiences in love. But the crew still manages to secure a place in the pecking order of the music hierarchy. The wacky and loony artwork on the album cover, with its bright and brilliant colours, is something one doesn’t see everyday!
The band claimed that this album was more than spiky hairdos, filthy tattoos and shouting obscenities. But the listeners can be better judges to gauge that claim. The album-opener, Intro, is a plausible punk number, though some might feel that it has a repetitive rhythm. The band picks up the scattered pieces of their life experiences and rocks with grit and fervour in the next track, All Downhill From Here. The lyrics carry weight (certainly a rarity in the modern punk rock scenario) and are about a relationship which goes from bad to worse. The bass is the most noticeable element of this number, and makes this song a genuine treat.
Next up is the ballad I Don’t Wanna Know. It seems NFG hasn’t learnt lessons from the disastrous ballad Sonny on their album Sticks and Stones. The tune is a purely pop addition to a punk rock album, something which doesn’t blend in well. Failure’s Not Flattering is a spectacular song featuring James DeWees of Reggie and the Full Effect. Lead vocalist Jordan chants some impressive and imposing lines: “I won’t cast the first stone or leave the first mark/But I will leave a lasting impression.” Sadly though, the other half of the album is lacklustre and morphs into a travesty of punk.
Songs like No News Is Good News, Ending In Tragedy and I’d Kill To Fall Asleep are boring and even uninspiring efforts by an experienced band (Catalyst being their fifth studio undertaking). The consolation is that this album has more chemistry than the stuff they have been producing before.—T.S.
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