Avril Lavigne

Under My Skin

Avril Lavigne- Under my skin

Review Score:

(10/10)
Anti-Britney, Anti-Christina, whatever. Avril Lavigne, the new Alanis Morrissette (someone check the water up there in Canada), is as much pop product as Spears/Aguilera-though, as the father of a four-month-old girl (at time of writing), sure, I'd prefer that my daughter listen to Avril (actually, truth be told, I'd prefer that my daughter listen to PJ Harvey, Bikini Kill, Liz Phair, or the Donnas). Lavigne lacks Morrissette's wit, however, and the lyrics on Under My Skin read like angry diary doodles. Sometimes the doodles are-and I mean not to sound patronizing here-awfully cute, such as when Lavigne sings, "I'll sit on my bed alone / Staring at the phone...This is when I start to bite my nails / And clean my room when all else fails." One can imagine Avril's teenage fans sitting on their beds, listening to Under My Skin, waiting for their boyfriends to call, and when they don't, turning the stereo volume knob just a tad higher. Overall, though, the lyrics lack focus and depth, but Lavigne's phrasing is surprisingly natural, so as soon as she matures (read: as soon as she experiences the pain of adult relationships), she may very well demand the attention of all thinking people.

On this sophomore CD, Lavigne ditches the Matrix, the hit making duo who penned the songs for her debut, instead turning to fellow Canadians Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida. Is there a difference? Not really. "Don't Tell Me," the CD's obvious standout, features the same gooey hooks, sweeping keybs, echoed vocals, and sawing, layered guitars that the Matrix favored on Lavigne's "Let Go" and Liz Phair's self-titled effort. "He Wasn't" is a popish Ramones-and-thus-Donnas-inspired rocker. Sadly, though, the CD starts strong ("Take Me Away," "Don't Tell Me," "He Wasn't") and ends strong ("Freak Out," "Slipped Away,") but in between the songs sound like filler, filler that will make your toes tap on second or third listen, but filler nonetheless. Still, "Don't Tell Me" should be required listening for all teenage girls and boys. Maybe we should petition to have the song become a public school learning requirement: "Don't think that you're charming / the fact that your arm is now around my neck / Got you in my pants / I'll have to kick your ass and make you never forget / I'm gonna ask you to stop / Thought I liked you a lot / But I'm really upset, really upset / Get outta my head, get off of my bed / Yeah that's what I said / Did I not tell you that I'm not like that girl / The one who throws it all away?"

Standout Tracks: "Don't Tell Me," "He Wasn't."

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