In June 2002, Avril Lavigne broke into the music industry with her bestselling debut album, Let Go.
Her debut album was the definitive punk-pop album, consisting of angst and even a bit of rage. Songs like “Complicated,” “Sk8er Boi” and “I’m With You” are still revered by many today.
Twenty years later, Lavigne decides to bring those frustrations back to the forefront with a record blatantly titled Love Sux.
Released on Feb. 25, 2022, the record presents those same angsty undertones as seen on “Let Go” as well as heavy power chords and collaborations with notable artists in today’s punk-pop industry.
At only 34 minutes of 12 songs, Love Sux is a rather short album, but it is packed to the brim with everything that made Lavigne’s first album a success.
The opener, “Cannonball,” sets the tone, and the opening lyrics “I’m a ticking time bomb / I’m about to explode” lets the listeners know this record will be quite the ride. The rest of the 2-minute track features punk guitars, Avril’s signature voice and a melody reminiscent of thrash metal.
Most notably, the two singles released prior to the album, “Bite Me” and “Love It When You Hate Me,” also strengthen the album.
“Bite Me” possesses all the same qualities as the rest of the record while also including a rather snappy chorus, making it the obvious choice for the album’s first single.
The latter, “Love It When You Hate Me,” brings back the punk-pop sounds of the early 2000s and is one of my personal favorites off the record. It sounds like it could come off a Hannah Montana album, and it is, once again, another great single choice.
The collaborations on the album, while sparse, fit well into the record. Most of the artists featured on Love Sux are notable artists from the punk-pop genre.
The second track, “Bois Lie,” features Machine Gun Kelly, who made the switch from rap to the ever-growing punk-pop genre in 2019. His 2020 album, Tickets to My Downfall, produced quite a few hits, making Kelly more accessible to a wider audience.
The album’s second single, “Love It When You Hate Me,” is another collaboration, this time with up-and-coming rap/R&B artist blackbear.” Blackbear appears on the second verse of this song and takes the track in a different direction melodically.
The third and final collaboration appears on the record’s 10th track with Mark Hoppus of Blink-182. Hoppus provided bass guitar as well as co-lead vocals, and the collaboration between the musicians resulted in a fantastic pop-punk duet of sorts.
Overall, I would say Love Sux is a top three Avril Lavigne album. Of course, the record cannot hold a candle to Lavigne’s debut, but it does serve as a worthy callback and nostalgia trip 20 years later.
Furthermore, Love Sux shows Lavigne returning to her roots, especially after the more pop-oriented albums that were 2013’s Avril Lavigne and 2019’s Head Above Water, the latter being her least commercially successful record to date.
If you are in the market for a new breakup album or just want to jam out to music with an early 2000s style, I cannot recommend Love Sux enough. This is ultimately a fantastic album that reminds us all of what made Avril Lavigne an excellent musician in the first place.
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