Part of
Avril Lavigne's appeal -- a large part of it, actually -- is that she's a brat, acting younger than her 17 years on her 2002 debut,
Let Go, and never seeming like she much cared about the past (she notoriously mispronounced
David Bowie's name when reading Grammy nominations), or anything else for that matter. She lived for the moment; she partied with sk8er bois; she didn't want anything complicated. Thanks to production gurus
the Matrix,
Avril's proudly adolescent anthems were delivered in a shiny package built on steel-girded hooks -- a sound so catchy it came to define the mainstream not long after
Let Go hit the radio.
The Matrix became ubiquitous on the strength of their work with
Lavigne, who herself became a big star, earning constant play on radio and MTV, kick starting a fashion trend of ties-n-tank tops for girls, and inexplicably providing a touchstone for indie rock queen
Liz Phair's mainstream makeover. Fame, however, didn't pull the two camps together; it pushed them their separate ways, as
the Matrix went on to record their own album and
Avril decided to turn serious, working with a variety of co-writers and producers, including fellow Canadian singer/songwriter
Chantal Kreviazuk, for her second album, 2004's
Under My Skin.
Lavigne hasn't only shed her trademark ties for thrift-shop skirts, she's essentially ditched the sound of
Let Go, too, bringing herself closer to the mature aspirations of fellow singer/songwriter
Michelle Branch. Since
Avril is still a teenager, she's livelier than
Branch. There may be an abundance of minor keys and midtempo cuts, but
Under My Skin is fueled by teen angst; sometimes, it seems as if she's the first to discover the joys of love and the pain of heartache. In a sense, she comes across as
Alanis Morissette's kid sister, especially now that
the Matrix are gone and the hooks have been pushed to the background for much of the record; it's the teen spin on
Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, where she's self-consciously trying to grow as an artist. Naturally, this means that
Under My Skin isn't as infectious as
Let Go since there's nothing as giddy as "Sk8er Boi," even if much of it is written from a similarly adolescent vantage point.
Lavigne's collaborators,
Kreviazuk and
Evan Taubenfeld chief among them, have helped streamline her writing via their meticulous arrangements, and her performances are assured, so
Avril sounds as if she's maturing a bit. In fact, that blend of confidence and confusion gives
Under My Skin its pulse; no matter how polished the surface, there's no hiding
Avril's attitude and ambition. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine