Wednesday, 24 July 2013

Avril Lavigne- Goodbye Lullaby Album Review


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Album- Goodbye Lullaby

Artist- Avril Lavigne

When she burst onto the musical scene in 2002 with her hit song ‘Complicated’, Avril Lavigne quickly became a worldwide star and musical role model for many people all over the world. The singer sold an impressive 17 million albums with her debut record Let Go, and follow up albums Under My Skin and The Best Damn Thing equally had impressive global success. Yet with her last record, Goodbye Lullaby, the singer has only managed to shift 1.5 million copies of the record, a figure that pales in comparison to her previous efforts. As Lavigne gears up to release her fifth studio record under a new label and with such artists as Chad Kroeger and Marilyn Manson on board, I look back at her previous studio effort to see if it actually was a bad record, or if people should have paid Lavigne a little more attention.

Track 1- Black Star

Opening track Black Star is a short musical piece that acts as a sort of inspiring song about being a black star but shining bright and just being what you want to be. The song is backed by simple piano instrumentation and finds Lavigne giving us a slightly airy vocal, opening the record in both a sweet and deep way, and so although this track was written for her perfume of the same name, it works beautifully for this record.

3.5/5

Track 2- What the Hell

Lead single What the Hell is a collaboration with pop music maestro Max Martin and is the most pop driven tune on the record. Lyrically the track has a broad message of personal freedom as Lavigne sings of being good all her life but now taking a I’m just going to do what I want attitude. The lyrics have a breezy and catchy quality that is perfect for the children who want to kind of rebel without actually rebelling. Vocally the singer gives us a simple performance that is slightly whiny but ultimately fun and imbued with this frivolous quality, whilst Max Martin gives us a cool sound to the track, opening the song with a retro keyboard riff and then including hand claps and guitars for a snappy rhythm that is quite infectious, and makes for a great pop tune.

3.5/5

Track 3- Push

Push is a sweet pop tune that has more of a mellow groove than the previous track and finds the singer focusing on relationships. The lyrics of the song focus on how relationships are hard but that’s how love goes and if you just push through things are great. Vocally Lavigne gives us a light but passionate performance that builds in power, with co-writer Evan Taubfiled providing some smooth vocals for the bridge. The production of the track is kept very simple and almost understated with the light drumbeats and guitar rhythms, and this just a perfect sweet love song that is touching and also something you can just chill to.

4/5

Track 4- Wish You Were Here

A slow song that brings some emotional intensity and vulnerability to the album. Wish You Were Here finds the singer longing for her lover. The song focuses on Lavigne being a fragile human being who wishes she could have her former partner back, and would seemingly do anything for that to happen. Lavigne gives us a vocal performance that is layered with emotion and which beautifully brings out the emotional intensity of the track, whilst the chorus is also really powerful in terms of the way that the lyrical repetition is simply enough to really convey this powerful, delicate emotion. The simple guitar strumming of the production is soft enough to elevate the songs emotional intensity, and therefore with this track the singer nicely provides musical diversity and emotion to the record.

3.5/5

Track 5- Smile

Things are taken to a more up tempo state with Smile, another Max Martin collab that is feisty pop, although this song has slightly more of a pop edge than What the Hell. Smile is another sweet tune that finds Lavigne singing about the things that would make most people run away, but praising her guy for sticking around and being able to put a smile on her face. The fast paced tone of the lyrics allows for the vocal performance to be feisty and energetic, with the chorus having a punch, attention grabbing tone that if you are walking along listening to the song will kind of make you smile. Martin provides some bite to the production with the drum rhythm and electric guitars, and so this is just a fun pop rock tune that is light and fun enough to enjoy.

3.5/5

Track 6- Stop Standing There

Described as having a 50’s girl group feel, Stop Standing There is a mid tempo number that marks the first of many tracks on the record that Lavigne wrote completely by herself. Lyrically the track focuses on Lavigne telling this guy to just step up to the plate and say that he wants her so they can really get a relationship going. The song finds the singer giving us a simple vocal that is nicely layered and has this cute quality that is appealing, whilst the track is lyrically smart and acts as a sort of anthem for all the girls who have just wanted a guy to make a move on them. Backed by snappy drumbeats and cool acoustic guitar, the songs sound keeps in line with the mellow feeling of the record as a whole, and is nicely bot simple but snappy enough to really get the point across, acting as a master class of how you don’t have to create in your face music to be noticed.

3.5/5

Track 7- I Love You

The final Max Martin collaboration is a sweet pop tune that is acoustically mellow and which is lyrically encapsulated within its title. Here Lavigne sings about different things that are good about her beau, but through the chorus she focuses on how that she just loves him at the end of the day for simply being him. The simplicity of the lyrics give the song this sincerity that is quite touching, and the ‘la la la’ hook adds more sweetness to the track that is very catchy, making this a good this is our song for some couples out there. With her light and airy vocal performance Lavigne makes this a believable tune whilst still adding this deep quality to the track, and with Martin providing a nice mix of vibrant acoustic guitar, steady drumbeats and an overall shimmering sheen to the songs sound, this song acts as a final stamp of how pairing Lavigne and Martin was a good idea.

3.5/5

Track 8- Everybody Hurts

From the sweetness of the last track we take a bit of a u turn as this song is firmly embedded in the notion of heartbreak, although at the center remains this essence of hope. The song has an almost narrative quality through the lyrics, where Lavigne describes feelings of uncertainty after her partner has left her, but ultimately coming to the conclusion that feeling this pain is ok because everyone will feel it. The track is slightly lyrically clichéd, but the universal essence of the chorus makes the song slightly more relatable and catchy. Lavigne gives us a slightly gravelly in places but ultimately delicate vocal that imbues the song with a power emotional intensity that really captures you. Production wise the song is nicely backed by acoustic guitar and drums that is a bit deeper compared to the previous tracks and which adds to the songs intensity, creating a track that encapsulates heartbreak that the listener can feel, but ultimately instilling hope into the listener.

3.5/5

Track 9- Not Enough

Keeping with the emotional intensity of the previous track, Not Enough finds Lavigne singing about the end of a relationship where this man has not been giving his all in the relationship, and so it is time to just call things a day. The songs lyrical repetition is a bit annoying and some clichés are employed, but the simple power of the chorus’ main statement is good and catchy. Vocally the singers voice is rich in terms of the lightness of the vocals that give the track this delicacy, although at times she does come across as a bit like a teenager in the throes of first love and so doesn’t feel as mature as the previous track. Backed by steady drumbeats and twinkling guitar rhythms, the production value of the track is good but also a little bit familiar, and so it is at this point that the quality of the record seems to dip slightly.

3/5

Track 10- 4 Real

Beginning the first of a stretch of songs that Lavigne wrote by herself, 4 Real is another sweet love driven song where Lavigne sings about being real and feeling strongly about this boy, asking him if he feels the same way. The lyrics don’t have the catchiness of the previous tracks, and come across to much like a young Lavigne being too clichéd. The vocals also have too much of a simple youthful flair, and the delicate guitar strumming wears thin at this point, leaving us wanting more from the record.

2/5

Track 11- Darlin

Darlin is a slightly weird track on the record in that it was actually written by Lavigne when she was just 15 years old. But with the more mellow and acoustic feeling of this record, it makes sense to have this song on the record, whilst the tight structure and polish of the lyrics shows that Lavigne is quite the accomplished songwriter. The song finds Lavigne telling this boy to let go as she just wants to love him and have him be happy. The song is lyrically sweet and is given gravitas by the light but passionate quality of Lavigne’s vocal performance. The songs production is a sound that is slightly familiar, but guitars and strings have a deeper, more impression leaving quality, and when the drums begin the song really becomes a powerful music piece that shows at 15 years old Lavigne was really good, or that now she can really make songs work for her.

3.5/5

Track 12- Remember When

Things are brought down to a much deeper and emotional level with this track that acts as a reminiscing tune that ultimately brings this sense of closure in a weird way. Lavigne lyrically focuses on asking this prson if they can remember the times that they had together, but ultimately she can’t take this memories and feelings and is just going to run from them. The songs message is very potent and is given more power by the fragility that the singer showcases in her vocals, with the way the singer stresses certain lyrics really giving the song this impression leaving quality. Production wise the song really builds from this delicate piano led ballad to an epic pop rock tune with almost stadium drums and feisty guitar riffs that really create an emotional sound, giving us song that is nice and feels ultimately very personal.

Track 13- Goodbye

Goodbye is the second of two tracks that the singer also produced herself aside from writing the lyrics herself. Goodbye is a great song to end the record with, as it’s emotional and heartfelt essence shows how Lavigne has become quite the master of her musical craft. The song simply finds the singer continually saying goodbye to her former lover, and although she is sad, she knows that she has to go, but he should know that in some way she will always love him. The simple quality of the word goodbye is really emotionally powerful, and the singers vocals are really layered with this delicacy and intensity that feels powerful to listen to. With the delicacy of the strings, guitar and piano, the sound perfectly matches the intensity of what the singer is singing about, and so this is a vulnerable and quite gorgeous way to the end the record, with the track finishes with this beautiful orchestral moment that is quite moving.

3.5/5

Track 14- Alice (hidden track)

Hidden track Alice is actually sort of a bonus track in that this song acted as a bridge between the singer’s last studio album and latest record. Recorded as the theme song for the 2010 film Alice in Wonderland, the song is written and sung from the perspective of the main character of that film, Alice. Lyrically the song is about Alice being in wonderland and getting confused by the world she finds herself in, but she will ultimately get by. The song perfectly encapsulates the films narrative, and Lavigne vocally makes this a powerful tune as the gives us a fragile but powerful vocal performance that does indeed feel like we are listening to the main character sing. The production of the track is simple pop rock territory but is strong and moody enough to make this a strong theme tune, and so whilst it may be your typical mid tempo pop rock ballad, it is still some stellar work from the singer.

3.5/5

Final Review

Goodbye Lullaby is an assured album from the singer than finds her in a comfortable place musically. The more organic musical essence of the albums sound nicely suits the singers voice, and with many of the tracks we get this nice sense of the singer being a bit more personal within her work. The record is also nicely cohesive and is balanced with up tempo and down tempo tracks. Sometimes the singers voice is a little grating and the lyrics feel slight clichéd, but it takes a lot to make an album really good, and this still feels like a powerful record as a whole. She may have grown up and so that might just be why people aren’t buying the record, because they have grown up and moved on, but Lavgine deserved more attention with this record, and it it should have reached at least gold status if not platinum. Particularly when it sound a bit like a conglomeration of her previous records and so covers a lot of bases.

8/10

Best Track- Push

Worst Track- 4 Real

No comments:

Post a Comment