Album Review: Goodbye Lullaby by Avril Lavigne

When Avril Lavigne hit the scene back in 2002 at 17 years old it was hard not to smile at her silly infectious pop.  Now nine years later she has put out her 4th album and that silly 17 year old is now 26 and singing about her recent divorce.

The obvious problem with the album is that she's still sticking with the same sound she had back in 2002 and not only is it feeling a bit played, it doesn't fit as well with her subject matter.  The not so obvious problem is that with this subject matter she's being pushed lyrically into depths that she has not gone before, and she struggles to find the depth needed to bring out the emotions.  The other problem I see here for Lavigne is that she's teamed up with people who were busy trying to construct a hit song, while she was busy trying to express her feelings.  That makes for a tough fit at times. 

Here's my suggestion if you want to give this album a listen.  Throw out all the co-written stuff, which was co-written by her production team, and just play the songs only credited to Lavigne.  I personally think it makes for a more interesting listen.

My version of Goodbye Lullaby
1. Black Star
2. Stop Standing There
3. 4 Real
4. Darlin
5. Remember When
6. Goodbye

She's always good to listen to on a pretty spring day while you drive around.  This album is obviously moody so you'll have to be feeling a bit moody yourself to enjoy it.

Following the Rhapsody rating method I give it 2 out of 5 stars for Not Bad.