Simple Plan formed in Montreal, Canada back in 1999. To date they have released three studio albums including this latest self titled offering. Both of their first two albums have gone quadruple platinum in their homeland of Canada. I would not generally be in at all a rush to listen to Simple Plan when a new album is released, but with their 2008 self titled album I had been looking forward to listening to it for quite some time now. Since first hearing the track ‘When I’m Gone’ I was greatly anticipating as to what the band would have to offer with this release and have definitely not been left disappointed by what they’ve come up with.
‘When I’m Gone’ first caught my attention as a result of the great change in sound that Simple Plan as a band have incurred. Their music has always been Pop Punk, however before there was always a heavy emphasis on the ‘Pop’ and not so much on the ‘Punk’. Whilst ‘When I’m Gone’ is admittedly still quite bouncy, the band are definitely taking a more mature and serious approach with the track and I feel that this actually benefits them greatly. It is now far easier to see them as a ‘real’ band, rather than being one that in all honesty you’re a little ashamed of admitting to your friends that you actually enjoy the music of. The music of Simple Plan now possesses a great strength that has never before been so apparent, it shines through more than ever now and the maturity of the band is highly apparent as they blast their way through ‘When I’m Gone’ and the majority of the tracks on this album in fact. The only complaint I can have with ‘When I’m Gone’ is that the official video for the track is a bit too similar for my liking to the ‘Beating Heart Baby’ video from Head Automatica. This does not in any way effect the enjoyment that can be gained from listening to the track of course, it is just a side issue that niggles me a little.
‘Generation’ is by far my favourite of all the tracks on this album. Despite this, I still find the lyrical choices a little questionable at times. The lyric of ‘Hey ho! Let’s go!’ for instance merely makes me think ‘You’re not The Ramones and this is no Blitzkrieg Pop’. The lyric is repeated many a time throughout the tracks duration and although there is no doubt that it is powerful, it’s more than a little plagiarised. As I say though; it’s a great track and is by far my favourite from the album. There’s something immensely catchy about this one, and not just as a result of the stolen lyric either. The guitars come across with a great strength, the vocals are excellent, and the Simple Plan sound of old is nowhere to be seen. I quite enjoyed the bouncy Pop Punk approach that their music used to take, however in producing this new sound Simple Plan definitely sound a lot better for it.
‘Take My Hand’ is another track that impresses me from this self titled release. There is just something about it that makes it highly addictive, a track that requests of you that it be played over and over again. It contains a biting ‘Hey, Hey’ and progresses with great pace and energy. Listening to this track is really quite exciting, the sort of track you’d perhaps listen to before performing a bungee jump in order to really hype you up for it. I don’t personally engage in bungee jumping activities, but you get the idea; it’s a track that really gets the adrenaline pumping. To listen to it is to love it, I fail to see how anyone could not like this greatly energetic and always enthralling anthem.
Although Simple Plan certainly show a heightened maturity in this album, there is one track in particular in which they revert back to their old formula. I am referring to ‘Time To Say Goodbye’ here, a track that rolls back the clock a few years and would not sound at all out of place on either of the bands first two albums. I personally feel that this is one of the weakest tracks on the album, however there will no doubt be many people out there longing that the band go back to producing their sound of old that will love this one. It is no bad thing that Simple Plan have matured as a band, but it’s a fact of life that some people just don’t like change and perhaps this is why this track has been included on the album; a track included simply for nostalgic value.
One final track I shall draw attention to individually is that of ‘Your Love Is a Lie’. It is quite a soft track with a driving guitar riff that minds me a little of that utilised in ‘Behind Blue Eyes’ by The Who. It’s a cracking tune that I feel stands out head and shoulders above the competition with its fantastic force of a guitar riff, brilliant progression, and superb use of vocals. I feel that it’s sure to be the second single that the band release from the album, it truly is a powerful track which the band belt out fully committed. You can hear the passion coming across in the music here and it definitely provides for one of the albums stand out moments. ‘Generation’ may well be my favourite from this album, but ‘Your Love Is a Lie’ certainly provides some strong competition.
Simple Plan have never been a favourite band of mine and they still are not in fact, but their new self titled album has definitely made me think more highly of them. ‘Simple Plan’ as an album consists of some great music, tracks that can be played over and over again and always they will be appreciated. There are definitely a few tracks here that are pulled off not quite so well as the others, and then of course there is the track which reverts back to their old sound which I don’t feel works too well, but on the whole it is an excellent album and I shan’t be stopping listening to it for some time I would imagine. Comprising of a total of eleven tracks, this self titled release from Simple Plan is definitely one that I would recommend to all. Even those that have previously not enjoyed the music of Simple Plan may find they like what they hear here, it is certainly a superb change of direction from the band and is one that has made them sound a far more accomplished act in my opinion.
Label: Lava/Atlantic
Release Date: 18th February 2008
Rating:
UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.
