If you've ever been so beaten down by love that you just want to give up, Avril Lavigne knows what you're going through. Now, she's delivering a full soundtrack for it.
Love Sux, the seventh studio album from the Canadian pop-punk veteran, is an amped-up rock fest of catharsis. From the first rips of electric guitar on opener "Cannonball" to the declarative final line on album closer "Break of a Heartache," Lavigne takes a refreshing approach on a breakup album, employing both a sense of humor and a wave of confidence.
It's a continuation of the relentless spirit Lavigne has displayed since her GRAMMY-nominated debut, Let Go, which turns 20 this June. Only this time, she's older, wiser and, ironically, in love.
During the album's creation, Lavigne began dating fellow pop-punker MOD SUN, one of her main collaborators on the project. But that didn't alter the "Bite Me" singer's scorned attitude on Love Sux, and it resulted in what she refers to as "a love letter to women."
Ahead of the LP's release, GRAMMY.com caught up with Lavigne to discuss the gratifying process of Love Sux, how it's a culmination of her career, and why — even despite her current relationship status — she stands by the album's jaded sentiment.
Pop-punk has always been part of who you are as an artist, but how did you get back into that mindset and vibe after making 2019’s Head Above Water, which pivoted away from that style?
Because Head Above Water was so full of ballads and emotional and just like, deep, I felt like I was definitely ready to f***ing rock. I just wanted to have fun, have a good time, and make an upbeat record.
I have a silly personality, so even though I'm talking about how love sucks — and I really, truly was feeling that way, burnt out and jaded on love, when I started this album — it's very lighthearted and there's a sense of humor in the songs.
This is the kind of music that I fell in love with when I was old enough to buy my own tapes and CDs, in like, grade nine, and discovering bands like Offspring, Goo Goo Dolls, Green Day. Before I started writing my own record, I was gravitating towards guitar-driven music. Even though some of my albums have pivoted a bit, all my concerts carry this spirit and energy in them.
This album is also a record I've wanted to make for a long time. I had my freedom…I didn't have a label or managers at the time, and I just went in the studio like, "Alright, time to rock all the way through. No holding back here."
Besides the creative freedom you had on it, what makes this album feel different?
Production-wise, it's the most alternative. Everyone was always trying to tell me to dial it back. I didn't have to, and I didn't care.
This far into my career, it's like, I don't have to be doing this. I'm doing it because I truly want to and I just want to have so much fun. Every album you go in kind of feeling a certain type of way stylistically, sonically, production-wise — this is just where I felt like, in my life, I wanna have fun, I wanna rock out.
How did that play into the direction you took lyrically?
Lyrically, I had just gotten out of a relationship, and I was reflecting on that. Because I had so much time in the pandemic to songwrite, I was looking back at my whole life, and love, the ups and downs, and the things I've gone through — the stuff I've seen, and the lessons I've learned — and put it into my music.
I do write about love a lot, but now the difference is, I'm writing from the perspective of a woman. My first album, I was just out of high school, so I was writing about skater boys. [Laughs.]
It was your first time working with both MOD SUN and veteran pop-punk producer John Feldmann — what did they bring to your creation process?
I felt like we all complemented each other, and they understood me. We all came from the same background, so we spoke the same language. Pop-punk is so easy for all of us. We all do it in our sleep. So it was just stupid fun.
I love Feldy's guitar playing. I think everything he does is cool. I personally think those two really get what "cool" is. It's hard to explain that to somebody.
When I write songs, I hear them a certain way in my head. A lot of times, you write a song and when you record it, you have to sit there and explain to the producer that you don't actually like what they did. [Laughs.]
I could not find a good producer on my last album. It literally took me a year. I had to take Head Above Water to, like, five different producers. I met John Feldmann, and I was like, "Where have you been? I could have used you the last 10 years of my life!"
Would you have ever thought that writing an album called Love Sux would actually lead you to falling in love? The irony of that is pretty hilarious.
I know! I was pretty closed off. I just needed a break. I was like, "I'm over it." And then I was having fun, and it was just like, "Whatever, f*** it." I was using my head, but then I followed my heart, I guess.
Oftentimes breakup albums can wallow in self pity and lament a relationship, even when the person singing isn't necessarily the one that screwed it up. You're just like, "No, I just want to say 'F you.'" I feel like this is the album women have been looking for.
I'm really happy to hear that. I just write from my experiences, and I tried to be super authentic. I make sure that I personally love everything, then throw it out there and hope that people love it. It's always really cool to hear that people can relate to the things that I've gone through, or they take the song and make it their own in their own way.
I imagine that that's kind of a big reason why you've called this album "a love letter to women," because it's speaking from your experience and not taking anybody else's experience into account. And if you've been screwed by a lot by men, then that's what you're going to write about.
I did an interview the other day with Kelly Clarkson. I was like, "Love sucks... I still feel that way though." And we were just like, "I guess men don't change." [Laughs.]
I can see you two getting along very well.
She sang my song "Breakaway" and made it a huge hit. I thought that was so cool. She was like, "Oh my god, thank you for that song, by the way!" And I was like, "No, thank you for making it massive."
Was there a lyric you remember writing and thinking, "Oh, man, that's a badass lyric"?
"Love Sux" is one of my favorites. I was literally like, "Oh, not another breakup." So it was like [Sings] "Nah, nah, nah, not another break up/ When I think of you I just want to throw up." That's funny, but it's so true. When you go through a breakup you literally just feel sick to your stomach.
I just feel like I articulated myself perfectly on that song. "Love is so overrated, got me feeling jaded." It's nice for me to have a sense of humor about it. And I like that the album is lighter and fun — you're talking about breakups and stuff, but it's not heavy and dark. It's just fun and making fun of it.
You've worked with Travis Barker before this album, but what is it like hearing your voice on a track with Mark Hoppus, as a longtime Blink-182 fan?
That was the first time that I've ever had a fangirl moment. It was a "pinch me" moment. Like, "This is really cool. I listened to this band in high school."
I was really blown away by how talented he was. Obviously, I know he is, but seeing him work and write, I was just really impressed with his skills. He was writing really fast, and he'd record his part, then he'd lay his vocals, then he'd lay down the bass. I was just like, "Wow, this guy is so talented." I loved everything he was coming up with. That was pretty up there for me.
So now that you're 20 years in, where do you see things going in the next 20 years?
When I was younger, I was like, "I just want to do this for forever." That's sort of my plan, just to keep making music. I've got this album, and the tour. Keep going, keep having fun.
I'm gonna feel it out each year, what I'm in the mood for — if I want to take a break, take a break, if I want to keep going, keep going. This year, I'm definitely ready to go on tour.
You hardly look any different than you did 20 years ago, but do you feel any different, considering you're now in your late 30s?
I pretty much feel the same other than, like, I definitely can't drink as much as I used to [Laughs].
When you think back to 17-year-old Avril in 2002, and where you thought your career was headed once big things started happening, how does that compare to what actually happened and where you're at now?
I never thought that this would happen on this level. Hearing myself on the radio for the first time was crazy. I feel really blessed and really lucky.
This is such a special and unique situation. The fan base is just so passionate and they've been so supportive. They're the reason why I'm still here 20 years later, and why everything took off on the first album.
I never would have seen any of this coming. I truly just loved music and writing. I didn't even know what Hollywood was — I just knew I wanted to sing, and I loved to write, and I loved to play guitar. And then all this happened!
I'm definitely living my dream. And today, it's still just as much fun as it was before.