Avril Lavigne
Under My Skin
Arista Records
A skate-punk rock artist for the younger, disillusioned youth of today?
Not quite.
But, despite the clever marketing ploy, Avril Lavigne is one of the more easily digestible pop-acts to surface over the past couple of years, complete with catchy songs and a good voice.
Emerging right out of left field (well, Canada, but still), Lavigne blew right up the charts in the summer of 2002 with “Let Go,” her debut album which yielded the hit singles “Complicated” (still being played on adult contemporary stations to this day), “Sk8ter Boi” and “I’m With You.”
Then, Lavigne spent the better part of the next year-and-a-half touring in support of said album to huge success (due mostly in part to the love affair between Avril and MTV and MuchMusic/Fuse).
So I’m sure the pressure of a follow-up weighed heavy on Lavigne after a short hiatus.
Well, the pressure (?) is off, as Lavigne and co. have delivered a nice little follow-up to be proud of. Thematically, Lavigne seems to have aimed for a more “girl-power” trip this time around, with a lot more rock thrown in the original pop mix.
Much like her last outing, Lavigne shares writing credit on each song. But this time out, her co-conspirators are more noteworthy: Canadian pop-songstress Chantal Kreviazuk shares writing credit on six of the 12 tracks; Kreviazuk’s husband and Our Lady Piece frontman Raine Maida pops up from time to time; former Evanescence guitarist Ben Moody’s much-publicized collaboration with Lavigne only yielded a single track (“Nobody’s Home”).
The album’s opener, “Take Me Home,” has a subtle element of urgency lying right under the surface. It’s a nice re-introduction to Lavigne and definitely showcases a more mature element to her sound: more rock influence, tighter music and more confident singing.
Kreviazuk’s handiwork is a welcome addition to the mix. Songs like “Together” and “Forgotten” sound a lot better than tracks Kreviazuk had no part in. “Forgotten,” one of the album’s heavier tracks, is actually quite effectively haunting and melodic at the same time, and probably “Under My Skin’s” best track. Also notable to fans of Kreviazuk is the bridge harmony during “How Does it Feel” that sounds like it was lifted right out of one of Kreviazuk’s releases (Kreviazuk just has a certain sound that is instantly recognizable).
As for the Moody piece: “Nobody’s Home” has a more noticeable edge compared to something Lavigne might normally serve up. But, at the same time, it’s obvious his music plays better off a more powerful voice (like former bandmate Amy Lee) than someone of Lavigne’s caliber  that’s not to say there’s a noticeable problem per se, it’s just that the two “sounds” don’t quiet mesh.
The album’s first single, “Don’t Tell Me,” wasn’t a bad choice as a lead-off single. It serves well to remind listeners what Lavigne’s sound is, but overall it turns out to be one of the album’s weaker tracks, especially the repetitive, less-than-stellar lyrics.
So what do you have at the end? Well, surprisingly, 12 solid slightly poppy, slightly rockin’ tracks. Nothing major to sink your teeth into, but shockingly nothing that really needs to be skipped over.
