Avril Lavigne - Head Above Water [Review]

Head Above Water is pop rock musician Avril Lavigne's sixth studio album and her first album in over five years (her last one being her self-titled album), the delay most likely due to the singer and songwriter's battle with Lyme disease. Lavigne, who is best known for hits such as "Complicated," "Sk8er Boi," "My Happy Ending," "Girlfriend," etc., made a comeback in September of last year with the album's title track and then eventually followed that up with two more singles - "Tell Me It's Over" and "Dumb Blonde" (all three of which I reviewed here). The album is overall a rather mellow and acoustic effort a bit reminiscent of Lavigne's 2011 album Goodbye Lullaby, and as I predicted would probably be the case, "Dumb Blonde" is very much the "What the Hell" or the "Hello Kitty" of this album - sticking out like a sore thumb and not fitting the album's overall sound at all. Following the title track (which both opens the album and, on the Japanese edition, closes it with a version featuring backing vocals by Travis Clark - who also co-wrote the song) on Head Above Water is "Birdie,"definitely a highlight on the album. If there is one compliment that I have to offer this album, it's that it probably showcases Lavigne's best vocals of her career thus far, and "Birdie" is a prime example of that, as she shows off a rather impressive vocal range on this song and soars and trills on the chorus. (Her vocals are, in fact, very birdlike, which is probably not coincidental.) The song opens with a beautiful piano introduction and is overall carried by a light beat and electronic quavering production. The lyrics, which use the analogy of a caged bird flying free as it's meant to, speak of breaking free from a situation (probably a relationship) that feels like imprisonment: "Like a bird locked up in a cage called love, he clipped her wings when she was born to fly. He said, 'A pretty bird, you can't sing, but I buy you diamonds and ruby rings like a bird locked up in a cage.'" While I cannot substantiate this, the song could be about Lavigne's ex husband Chad Kroeger (frontman of alternative rock band Nickelback) with whom Lavigne had previously collaborated on "Let Me Go," since the two split several years ago. The reasons for the split have not, as far as I know, been revealed in detail, so, as I said, I cannot substantiate that.

"I Fell in Love with the Devil" is another song that was potentially inspired by Kroeger (as is "Tell Me It's Over," although, again, I say potentially because I do not know that for sure). While not necessarily a highlight, I love the verses of the song as they feature a beautiful and haunting melody that reminds me a bit of the melody of "Give You What You Like" (which is possibly my favorite song of Avril's entire career thus far). As previously mentioned, "Dumb Blonde" (which features a verse from rapper Nicki Minaj) sticks out on Head Above Water as it does not belong stylistically. I have already reviewed it, but I would like to add that a solo version of the song is found on physical copies - such as CDs and vinyls - of the album, something that I immediately noticed upon first listening to my CD copy. Instead of Nicki Minaj's verse, Lavigne offers a playful Gwen Stefani like verse of her own: "If you're a strong bitch, then bring it on, bitch. Then, sing along if you don't take no shit. When it gets fucked up, don't ever shut up. You gotta stand up and fight for it." I definitely prefer Lavigne's verse to Nicki Minaj's verse, especially since Nicki Minaj's verse kind of temporarily steals the spotlight away from Lavigne by rapping mostly about herself and making reference to her own works such as her song "No Frauds" and her album The Pinkprint. The middle section of the album - containing tracks such as "Dumb Blonde," "It Was in Me," "Souvenir," and "Crush" - is by far the weakest segment of the album (with "Souvenir" and Crush" especially being throwaway tracks in my opinion), with the beginning and the ending of the album being the strongest segments. I felt really disappointed upon initially hearing the song "Goddess" because when I first saw the album's tracklisting, I saw the title "Goddess" and expected the song to be about Lavigne's strength in having overcome struggles such as her Lyme disease and her split from her husband, but it really is not; it's an acoustic lovey-dovey pop song about feeling appreciated by a lover. The opening verse ("Dark times, hard times, I didn't know who I was for a minute.") likely makes reference to such aforementioned struggles, but that is it. I do like the playful and catchy chorus, but I just overall feel really let down by its cliché lyrical content.

"Bigger Wow" and "Love Me Insane" are two of my favorite songs from Head Above Water. "Bigger Wow" is thematically very similar to one of my favorite Avril Lavigne songs - "Anything but Ordinary" (found on her 2002 debut album Let Go) - as both songs are lyrically about taking risks and wanting to experience life to the fullest. My favorite aspect of "Bigger Wow," aside from the catchy chorus, is the playful and quirky strings, somewhat similar to what is heard on "Love Me Insane." I, in fact, love that the two songs are back to back on the album because they both put the same image in my mind - looking down at the world from a colorful hot-air balloon on a sunny summer day with a few tufts of fluffy clouds in the blue sky. (I don't really know how to explain why this is the image that the songs evoke, but it is.) "Love Me Insane," as the title would suggest, is another lovey-dovey song, but I love its charming and quirky nature - especially its piano accompaniment. The album closes with "Warrior" (co-written, oddly enough, with Kroeger), basically the song that I expected "Goddess" to be. It's a piano ballad about overcoming strife due to being strong. The title track and "Warrior" seem to be the only two songs on Head Above Water that deal directly with Lavigne's struggle with Lyme disease, which is disappointing to me because I expected the album to be more of a thematic work (similar, I suppose, to how nearly 100% of Björk's 2015 album Vulnicura literally chronicles her separation from her longtime partner Matthew Barney and the aftermath of the split). Most of the album, however, is comprised of love songs that seem to be about a new lover. A demo version of "Warrior" leaked, and it is, in my opinion, significantly better than the album version. More experimental and theatrical with a tribal beat and choir, I cannot imagine how Lavigne could have possibly seen the much more basic album version as an improvement. Several other outtakes - such as "In Touch" and "I Want What I Want" - also leaked, and most of the unreleased outtakes are more interesting than most of what the album actually offers, and I am overall disappointed with Head Above Water. While, as previously stated, the vocals are undeniably great, most of the songs themselves lack the inspiration and creativity that I have come to expect from Lavigne, and this is unfortunately my least favorite album of hers thus far.