Once again she serves her purpose
Avril Lavigne is probably the fastest rising star of the past year or so. Hitting the scene at sweet sixteen she was soon dubbed ‘that angry girl’, but what’s she like now she’s 19? Apparently she’s more mature and her new album ‘Under My Skin’ will be a testimony to that.
‘My Happy Ending’ is the second single to be released from this album. The title track is simply what Avril does best. She’s signed as a teen pop-punk sensation who delivers songs that influence people, against their own will, to know most of the words and be singing along and luckily, this is something she does well. ‘My Happy Ending’ is simply about the end of a relationship but with the bite supplied only by an irate teen with all hormones still intact.
Two acoustic sessions are also present on this CD format, the first being an acoustic version of ‘My Happy Ending.’ Putting the song into this medium, however, seems to have taken the edge off the music. After all, half the poignancy of the track comes from the track, not just the woman herself. The second track, ‘Take Me Away’, works very well in this format. Obviously the accompaniment of a sole guitar means all attention is solidly on Avril and what she has to say (or sing as the case may be.)
The second CD format boasts the title track once again and also the previously unreleased ‘Take It.’ The decisively punky song had me immediately thinking “What is this? It sounds like she’s actually singing a happy song!” I kid of course but it still remains what the song is. An up-beat, up-tempo, get up and go mix of Avril’s skilful play on words and her bands transition into the ‘more punk than pop’ side of the coin.