This album was quite some time coming for the young Canadian lady Avril Lavigne. After some attempts at creating material that would be seen as favourable by her record label, this album was finally released in mid-2002 and remains the highest-selling release by any Canadian artist release in the 21st century. That takes talent to do. This album was a good mixture of different styles of music, notably many genres under the blanket genre of Punk. She had some major hit singles with the songs Complicated and Sk8er Boi, which was fitting for the era with blink-182 still making music and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater video games being a big thing. In any case, this is an undeniably important album in the history of Rock Music and should be observed in detail. Let’s take a listen and hear what we have here.

Losing Grip begins with a strange-sounding keyboard-led groove. Avril Lavigne sings nicely, and her clear and excellent vocal delivery is very, very good. She sounds somewhat like Dido here in her singing voice. Soon enough, this launches into quite a good Punk Rock-styled groove with punchy guitars, pounding drums and powerful vocals to match. This is a good song that has some very good woman power in the lyrics and singing throughout. This is a good starting point to smash the stereotypes that existed with female singers in Rock Music. In any case, this music is really quite good, although this song has an air of a negative vibe about it. Despite that, this is a good listen but probably not the greatest song ever by Avril Lavigne. Still, one can hear that she is definitely putting in a decent effort musically. This song is just not as good as one had hoped for. It’s good for Alternative Rock fans, but aside from that, this sounds like something very negative. It’s okay, but could be better. It finishes just before four minutes is up.

Complicated is the big hit from this album. It begins with some multitracked acoustic and electric guitars, with Avril Lavigne singing nicely over the top of it all. This is an intensely emotional and powerful musical statement that sounds radio-ready and era-defining. A really awesome and great listening experience and this tune sounds very moving in the chorus. This proves that Avril Lavigne definitely had a great talent musically, and this was well-known by many in the music industry at the time. A really awesome and energetic listening experience about the difficulties in relationships. A real gem of a listening experience that sounds era-defining and enjoyable to listen to, for a single song. Avril Lavigne has a great singing voice, and this song proves her unique, Canadian-based high range and powerful singing delivery and accent. A decent song to listen to, and something very memorable after hearing it. Good job.

Sk8er Boi is a much better and more upbeat song from the start than what came before it, with a quicker tempo and better guitar riffs. This launches into a good song about an awesome sort of relationship, set to Punk guitars. This is exactly the sort of anthem that skateboarders and other similar music fans really could enjoy. The lyrics are socially aware, and the playing and performance are really quite good. A good song and although its Rock stylings have not aged terribly well, this is a very memorable and upbeat listen. A cool listening experience that is powerful, emotional and energetic throughout. The production and sounds are very in-your-face and different, and this music is overall good. It ends after three minutes or so, sounding like it falls apart at the end.

I’m With You sounds mournful from the start. It begins with some crisp acoustic guitars and a sad-sounding violin section. This launches into a rather depressing song about waiting for a lover in the worst set of scenarios. A good song, but very depressing to listen to. This isn’t cheerful-sounding music in general, even though it is well-crafted and constructed. It’s good, but this neither sounds cheerful nor has aged terribly well. In any case, Avril Lavigne deserves credit for making early 21st century melodrama in Pop Music. Good music to listen to if you are experiencing relationship problems with a partner, but otherwise this is fairly average. It’s okay, but others have done miserabilism better than this. Good but not great. It wraps up with a soft ending.

Mobile is a more upbeat song with crisp acoustic guitars, and DJ scratching and sounds quite decent. Avril Lavigne proves her worth in this part of the album that she is more than just a one-hit wonder. This is a good song about moving on from bad circumstances at hand, and she sings and plays wonderfully on this song. A very good listen, Avril Lavigne puts herself into a risky set of scenarios in lyricism and doesn’t look back to the past here. This music is good but does not reach the heights of great, which is disappointing as Avril Lavigne could have been a lot bigger than this. The music is very negative as well, and the negativity is not really something worth embracing. Still, this is good for what it is. A good slice of Pop/Rock music around the time that Coldplay was becoming huge, with a similarly themed melancholy mood. It ends after three and a half minutes long.

Unwanted begins with some keyboards and launches into more miserabilist sounding music. The guitars are excellently played here, sounding fairly Poppy and minimal. This is another relationship-based song that sounds very much like here today, gone tomorrow material. The chorus is about being rejected by a male who doesn’t respect a lady. This is okay, but borderline mediocre music. The sounds and editing are original, but this song is not really focused or grounded consistently. Regardless, this is okay but far from pure perfection. One can appreciate that this song is a female-oriented piece that showcases a side of feminity that is rarely explored or expressed in typical circumstances in music. Still, this music isn’t the greatest. This continues an album of average-sounding songs about heartbreak. Not the best, it ends with some chaotic guitars and singing that is emotional.

Tomorrow sounds a lot like Oasis’s Wonderwall, which isn’t exactly original. Avril Lavigne sings softly and sweetly here, and this continues the melancholy drag of music conceptualism here. It is good but sadly, not great. This music isn’t overly memorable nor as good as the hit singles earlier on this album. The production is decent, however, layering up Abril Lavigne’s vocals with clear, crisp acoustic guitars and a string section with sturdy drumming. This is music to listen to if you are going through a rough time in a relationship, and it is certainly moving, but not in a good way. Another good song that is naked, vulnerable and emotional throughout. This is a tender moment of the record but obviously, this album is fairly patchy. It’s good if you need to cry your eyes out after a bad relationship episode, however. A sad listen.

Anything But Ordinary begins with some treated electric guitar parts and sounds very melodic throughout. It quickly launches into a good song about dealing with life’s insecurities by being a bit different. This is a better song to listen to, partly because it lacks melancholy and dreariness, but also due to more consistent songcraft here. A really great listening experience that still has overtones of the relationship themes of previous songs, but it still has a slight hint of negativity about it. Regardless, a good listening experience that sounds different to most of the rest of the album. The music is very Poppy and here today, gone tomorrow material. Good for 2002, but sounds very dated decades later. Decent but nothing overly memorable here. It concludes with mellow electric guitars.

Things I’ll Never Say begins with some crisp acoustic guitar strumming and has Avril Lavigne singing some high-octave harmonies, before launching into a good Pop/Rock song that is about more romantic based concepts. The chorus is really awesome, and this song is about love and romance with conflicted emotions within. This song is master-crafted and decent Pop Music. This is a moment on the album that makes one wish the album were as bright and optimistic as this tune. Regardless, a good song that has some nicely textured guitar music elements to match. This is emotionally charged music that appeals to both men and women out there, which is a very good thing as music. In the second half, instead of a guitar solo are really sweet harmonies. A good song to listen to, and one of the more underrated songs from this album. Very much worth hearing.

My World begins with acoustic guitars and electronic beats and has Avril Lavigne singing over the top of it all. This is a more upbeat song that is a self-definitive statement by Avril Lavigne about the life that she had earlier on before becoming a musician. This is another good song, even if the overall flow and mood of the album aren’t always 100% there. Still, no denying that it is quite a good listen, as is much of the rest of the album. A good exploration of the difficulties of romantic relationships, Avril Lavigne sings about the realities of romance set to music. Considering the high level of divorce rates (at over 50% of all marriages) in Western societies, this music about relationship issues does make a lot of sense to the adult listener, in particular. Another good listen with some neat production values to it.

Nobody’s Fool begins with some chiming Fender guitar parts, likely Stratocasters, and launches into drums and DJ scratching, which is a bit weird. This sounds like a continuation of Complicated, just with slightly different chords and lyrics. Regardless, this album is somewhat hit-and-miss in terms of originality and consistency. The music throughout is okay but is not the greatest. A good listen, but it sounds quite dated as well. Instead of being ahead of its time, this album just sounds of its time, a little disappointing in retrospect. Still, this music is good enough for what it is. The musicianship is really quite tight, however. Avril Lavigne and the band play very nicely here, even if this sounds a bit mixed up musically. In any case, this isn’t skippable, just not as good as it promises. Avril Lavigne must deserve credit for making some good mid-tempo Alternative Rock Music. It ends just before four minutes in length.

Too Much To Ask begins with a moody mixture of electric and acoustic guitars, before launching into a song about loneliness and despair. This is a stronger statement than some of the other songs on this album, but again, it contains an air of negativity within it. A very sad and upsetting sort of listen to those who are doing it tough in their love life, this does sound very consistent and pretty throughout. Nonetheless, very enjoyable if you are in a bad mood. It’s a shame that this album isn’t more upbeat than it presently is. The songs are good, but this lacks a magical factor to it that makes it a truly great album. The musicianship is really fine and fantastic, though, even if the mood is off. This is the sort of music to play to a lover if you need to break up with them. Anyway, this concludes with some good backing track playing and guitar work.

Naked begins with some clean guitars along with some wah-wah guitar work. Avril Lavigne sings about the realities of being brokenhearted, and this music continues the rainy day-styled negativity musicality. A good song about being either physically or emotionally naked in a sense. The musicianship is good, although this is a bit tiresome to hear by this point. The mood of miserabilism and dreariness does not benefit this record. Still, another good song that is okay to hear, but really down in terms of emotional listening. In any case, Avril Lavigne is a good singer and the band plays very well. It ends after three minutes or so, and the album concludes here.

This is a good album that, although sold very well, does not reach the heights of a great album. Which is sad, as it really could have done so. The mixed-up emotional palette in the songs, with the addition of a ton of negativity and a rather generic Pop Music feel to the music drags it down a bit. Still, there is no denying that, at this point certainly, Avril Lavigne was a young and quite talented up-and-coming artist, in her own way who showed the big male bosses in the music industry that women are just as important as men. Should you listen to this album? If you can look past miserabilism in music, do give it a go. Otherwise, look elsewhere.

Good but not good enough.

6/10