Singer Avril Lavigne arrives at the 25th Annual Race to Erase MS Gala at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on ... [+]
Throughout the 2000s, Canadian singer Avril Lavigne was practically inescapable. After bursting onto the scene in 2002 with hit songs like “Complicated” and “Sk8er Boi,” she came to represent a new generation of pop-punk, eventually topping the Billboard Hot 100 in 2007 with her smash single “Girlfriend.”
In the years since then, however, Lavigne has used her unique style in different ways; her most recent LP, 2019’s Head Above Water, for example, was an introspective record written from a vulnerable place as she dealt with her Lyme disease diagnosis throughout the 2010s.
Now, Lavigne is back with a new album, and it’s a welcome return to form for the hitmaking singer. Love Sux is the product of the pandemic and sees Lavigne picking up her guitar again and shaking off the last two years of tension.
To bring the project to life, Lavigne teamed up with the likes of Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and lead vocalist Mark Hoppus, as well as rock-rapper Machine Gun Kelly. MGK contributed to the project as a songwriter and guitar player, while Barker plays drums on several of the tracks.
“I started talking to Travis in 2020, and then I worked on it all of last year,” she recounted to Vogue of the recording process. “I decided to make a fun rock and roll record. I was just not in the mood to sing ballads or mid-tempos—I was like, let’s just rock.”
In many ways, Love Sux is a full circle moment for Lavigne. She first debuted as a teenager singing about teenage issues, and has since grown into an adult with similar problems “I was writing about young love,” she said of her 2002 debut album Let Go. “Now, I’m writing about my experience as a woman. But relationships and love don’t get any easier. It’s the same shit, different pile.”
Ultimately, even though it’s a lyrically heavy album, Lavigne wanted Love Sux to be a party — and that’s exactly what it is. “The album is light and happy, even though there’s songs about heartbreak and breaking up,” she told Nylon about the project. “But it’s also anthemic, and it’s powerful, and it has a positive message for people to stand up for yourself, to have self-worth.”
“[It’s the album] I’ve wanted to make for my whole career.”
