Why is this song such a banger? I tend to dismiss Avril Lavigne as a musical lightweight, or forget about her from time to time as she’s a bit reclusive, relatively speaking.
She surprises again and again, though, with compelling songs. Even when her lyrics are teenage simple, her voice and delivery proves moving. Avril Lavil’s voice is sweet and melodious, light but with a healthy range and a warbling vibrato.
I think her appeal lies in her ability to emote. She is a hundred percent behind the ethos and pathos of every song. When she’s mad at the boyfriend who scorned her, as in “Losing My Grip,” she reaches nu metal-levels of pissed.
She can be fun and bouncy, ask in brat-pop athem, When she’s feeling the F-you, as in the brat-pop anthem, “Girlfriend,” when Avril suggests a likely guy ditch his blah-blah girlfriend and trade it for, you guessed it, one rebellious Avril Lavigne. “What the Hell?” is another
a kiss-off to a boyfriend for reasons clearly specified. It’s been a long, lonely, boring season and sometimes a girl just needs to play the field.
She also delivers a hell of a a torch song. Just take the sweeping, weeping dynamics of “I’m With You” and the naked longing of “Fall to Pieces.”
Okay, I see what’s happening. I’m actually an Avril Lavigne fan. It happened today, while I wasn’t looking. She plays guitar, piano and drums, has a voice that can raise goosebumps. And she writes and co-writes her own songs.
And it all started with a flashback to a teenaged Lavignes’ 2002 debut Let Go.
–Sarah Torribio
Listen to more songs of the day HERE
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