New Album Review: Avril Lavigne- Love Sux

Avril Lavigne- Love Sux

Label: Elektra

Producers: Travis Barker, John Feldmann, Derek Smith

This year marks two decades since Avril Lavigne exploded onto the pop landscape as a seventeen year punk-pop dynamo, so it’s probably fitting that her seventh long-player, and first since 2019’s Head Above Water–a heavier outing that featured a Christian radio hit of all things–, represents a full-circle moment for the singer-songwriter. Love Sux is a full-blown return to the angsty, attitudinal skate-punk that defined her most notable hits and borrows significantly from the emo and alt-punk sounds of the 2020s, as evidenced by appearances from notables including Machine Gun Kelly, Blackbear, as well as Blink-182 musicians Travis Barker and Mark Hoppus. As Love Sux progresses, it becomes evident very quickly that Lavigne remains completely in her element within this realm, and as skilled as anyone past or present at executing it. It may limit her appeal back to a more defined niche audience, and certainly isn’t as technically flattering of her vocal range, but it’s sure to make her core audience rejoice tenfold. The avalanche of pop-punk anthems found primarily in the center of the album, including “Bois Lie”, “Bite Me”, “Love It When You Hate Me”, the title track, and “Kiss Me Like the World Is Ending”, stack up against any of her signature hits, and would likewise dominate airwaves if it was still 2003. This album is truly a roots effort for one of the early aughts’ definitive artists, and proof positive that she’s still one of the true masters of music of this ilk.

Track Listing:

1. “Cannonball” (Avril Lavigne, John Feldmann, Derek Smith)
2. “Bois Lie” featuring Machine Gun Kelly (Lavigne, Feldmann, Smith, Colson Baker)
3. “Bite Me” (Lavigne, Feldmann, Smith, Omer Fedi, Marshmello)
4. “Love It When You Hate Me” featuring Blackbear (Lavigne, Feldmann, Smith, Matthew Musto)
5. “Love Sux” (Lavigne, Feldmann, Smith)
6. “Kiss Me Like the World Is Ending” (Lavigne, Feldmann, Smith)
7. “Avalanche” (Lavigne, Feldmann, Smith)
8. “Deja Vu” (Lavigne, Feldmann, Smith)
9. “F.U.” (Lavigne, Travis Barker, Nick Long)
10. “All I Wanted” featuring Mark Hoppus (Lavigne, Feldmann, Mark Hoppus)
11. “Dare to Love Me” (Lavigne)
12. “Break of Heartache” (Lavigne)