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Avril Lavigne: Greatest Hit
CD | LP | DL
Out Now
Here with her Greatest Hits album in 2024, nobody can be under the illusion they don’t know what Avril Lavigne is about. The pop-punk princess will drag you through a 2000s portal to a cooler world swarmed with flip phones, iPods, and Sk8r Bois rockin’ up MTV.
It starts with that iconic track, “He was a boy, she was a girl/Can I make it any more obvious”. The song of a 17-year-old Avril cultivating a story and her ability to write hits. Lavigne was the poster girl of the 2000s pop-punk movement, a moment in time through music that still resonates with many to this day. Together with Green Day, Blink-182 et al, Lavigne created a new subculture based upon some of the goth and punk ideals of yesteryear.
The hits gave the subculture popularity.
The insanely catchy Girlfriend peaked at number two in the UK Singles Chart, while her debut single Complicated is a floorfiller to this day, frequently wheeled out to great acclaim by the DJ at my local alternative rock night. It is vintage Lavigne, her lyrics and overdrive providing a cause for those who feel ostracised to rally behind.Lavigne has a slice of this zeitgeist as well as her own.
She is now the voice of the 40-year-old rocker and the disillusioned teenage girl. The idea that a punk figure like Lavigne can be worthy of having a greatest hits album is a testament to the change she helped to bring about at the time. If a movement is to bring about change, it must bring the people with it. It is worth bearing that in mind, Mr Starmer.
I find the greatest hits album to be an intriguing concept, this one is not in chronological order and is front-filled with her mostrenowned songs. There are some hits later on, with the piano and guitar mesh of My Happy Ending standing the test of time. I’m With You is the twelfth track, while 2018’s pop rock track Head Above Water closes the album.
Greatest Hits is sadly devoid of new material, which would provide further value for money. Its name does hold true though, it’s all about the hits. The cover tells you about the message, it’s moody, featuring Lavigne bearing down on us, face hunched up to her ripped jeans.
For those who were turned on to her music in their own teenage years, she stands shoulder to shoulder with Courtney Love, Joan Jett and Stevie Nicks, thought of as a great female rock voice of the 2000s. Lavigne has also inspired some great women to make music including Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo, arguably the two biggest breakthrough stars of the past few years.
On Lavigne, Rodrigo said: “I am such a massive fan of you I look up to you so much.” And just recently Lavigne has been awarded an Order of Canada, bestowed only upon those who achieve something outstanding. The reason given for the award was that Lavigne had “paved the way for female-driven punk-rock music and continues to do so today.”
Some may be keen to dispell the post-punk genre, but for those whose hearts it’s touched, it’s a cornerstone upon which life was a built, a home which they found when they had nowhere else to turn. It’s a refuge in notes.
2024 has been an eventful year for her. The release of this album follows the inception of her Greatest Hits tour which began in May, a trend which has only gained in popularity since Taylor Swift began her Eras Tour. This year featured the release of a speculative BBC podcast discussing a hoax conspiracy theory that Lavigne was replaced by a body double in 2003.
She is soon to play a string of UK dates at Bedford Park, Glastonbury, Cardiff Castle, and Manchester’s Castlefield Bowl.
The Ontarian’s album and tour will evoke old memories and help cultivate new ones too.
You can find Avril Lavigne online here: https://avrillavigne.com/. They’re also on Facebook and Twitter, as @AvrilLavigne.
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Words by Luke Birch. More from Luke can be found over at his Louder Than War Author Archive, his Muckrack and on Twitter @LukeBSport.
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Very inspirational review about Avril Lavigne. She truly deserves it.