“Life, that’s what this record is about,” Lavigne tells Rolling Stone. “It’s so easy for me to do a boy-bashing pop song, but to sit down and write honestly about something that’s really close to me, something I’ve been through, it’s a totally different thing.” Even though Lavigne is stepping away from the power-punk, she still packs the catchy hooks on songs like “Darlin’,” which was the second song Lavigne ever wrote as a 15-year-old living in Napanee, Ontario. Butch Walker also worked on Lavigne’s fourth LP.
While Lavigne’s previous albums hid her voice behind walls of production, her vocals are front-and-center on new tracks like “Everybody Hurts.” Other titles include “Black Star,” which was originally going to be the theme song for Avril’s fragrance of the same name, and “Fine.” “My last record was about loud guitars and energy, but this I wanted to really feel my music,” Lavigne told RS.
