I have been an Avril fan since I was 11 years old when "Complicated" was this huge new song on the radio. I love her first two albums and still listen to them, but feel she’s not delivered this standard with any of her follow up efforts.
So how is Love Sux sounding?
The album starts with “Cannon Ball”, an up tempo opener with machine gun kelly vibes, which is convenient, as the next track, “Bois Lie” features MGK himself. This one is catchy and follows a tried and tested machine gun kelly formula, which fans of him will enjoy.
“Bite Me” is track 3. This is like “Girlfriend” part II – catchy but cringy. Once again following a modern day pop punk formula, track 4, “Love It When You Hate Me” features blackbear. This is the catchiest song so far, with some nice 90’s vibes in the chorus.
“Love Sux” is next up. It has a riffy Green Day-esque bit just before the chorus and has sing-along qualities that will go down well live. This leads into “Kiss Me Like The World Is Ending”. This has a less obvious chord progression and melody, and becomes my favourite track so far. The downside is the questionable lyrics which are nowhere near the angsty style I loved from the Let Go and Under My Skin eras.
“Avalanche” is the first slower track which actually shows off what a great singer Avril is. The pace and the dynamics build up as this one chugs along until it ends up sounding like another ode to machine gun kelly.
The next song, despite being called “Déjà vu”, is actually pretty forgettable. Avril rhymes asshole with castle and I can’t decide if this is genius or awful.
“F.U”. is next on and reminds me of the sort of songs I wrote for my early bands 10 years ago. It has a nostalgic pop punk feel that kind of makes you want to jump around a bit.
“All I Wanted” features another pop punk legend in the form of Mark Hoppus. The verses are very Blink-182, but the choruses are more anthemic and give me Neck Deep vibes.
“Dare To Move Me” is a more genuine ballad compared to "Avalanche", and again shows off Avril’s vocal talent. It feels a little out of place with the rest of the album and has Lorde vibes.
The album ends 30 minutes later with “Break of Heartache”. This is a bit punkier with some cool Joan Jett vibes.
Overall the collection of songs is okay, and I think it will appeal to new pop punk fans discovering MGK and getting into All Time Low’s newer material - but I don’t think OG fans of Avril like myself will hail this a classic. I will probably listen to it again, but it will never become a favourite.
Best Song – F.U.
Overall score – 3/5
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