For her latest record Goodbye Lullabye, pop queen Avril Lavigne apparently went against a specific stylistic direction intended by her record company RCA – with results indicative of this decision. While the new record does have a few tracks like “What the Hell,” which play upon her watered-down pop punk side that made her famous in the first place, the bulk of the tracks are on the more introspective side. Rather than hearing a collection of overproduced, upbeat pop tracks, Goodbye Lullabye churns out mellow offering after mellow offering. One can certainly speculate on how much of the material was inspired by her divorce from Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley, but regardless of the root motivation, there are quite a few songs that revolve around love – and love-gone-wrong in most cases.
04. Wish You Where Here: it reminds me of a mix of Let Go and more of Under My Skin. It is kind of mediocre, but the vocal's climax it's so orgasmic.
05. Smile: catchy-upbeat rock song. The explicit attitudinal cheery number, “Smile,” reflects Lavigne’s rebel-like vibe with the bratty lyrics, “You know that I’m a crazy bitch / I do what I want / When I feel like it.” The pre-chorus is a sure fired up hit maker in the making with a cheery chorus that follows, “You’re the reason why I smile.” The song, clearly directed at current boyfriend Brody Jenner chants, “I woke up with a new tattoo / Your name was on me / And my name was on you.” (Both Lavigne and Jenner have tattoos of each other’s names.)
06. Stop Standing There: it's bouncy, it's different, it's catchy. Her vocals have a desperate urgency to them which really adds to the song's atmosphere. Also produced by Whibley was the clap-finger snap-cutesy track “Stop Standing There,” self-penned by Lavigne which starts off with a frustrated Avril wondering what’s going on in her significant others head. “You’re just standing by / You’re just wasting time / Why don’t you just tell me the truth / About me and you?” The probing Lavigne sings in the bridge, “Stop standing there / Stop acting like you don’t care / Stop being scared,” and ends the number with, “Please tell me who you are / So I can show you who I am.”
07. I Love You: very interesting beat to it. The lyrics are a bit cheesy, but when the chorus kicks in, such a catchy song! In “I Love You,” Max Martin helped deliver is highly reminiscent of Jen Leckman’s, “Your Arms Around Me,” while Lavigne sings, “La, la, la,” along with the melody and is almost shortly identical to that of Alanis Morissette’s hit, “Thank U,” during the bridge’s, “oh, oh.” Though the tune holds its own and could easily be a radio hit, Lavigne makes a slight hint towards ex-husband Deryck Whibley with the bridges lyrics, “Even though we didn’t make it through / I am always here for you.”
08. Everybody Hurts: I thought it would be depressing. It turns a negative into a positive. Sounds kinda Blink-182's ''I miss You'' but with and indie vibe. “Everybody Hurts,” one of the earliest tracks written for the record starts out with an acoustic melody sure to win over lingered off fans with the first listen. With lost and confusion, Lavigne sings, “Don’t know if I can do this on my own – it seems I’m losing something deep inside of me.” With hopelessness, she sings, “It feels like nothing really matters anymore,” but uplifts the listeners with the chorus, “It’s okay to be afraid – everybody feels this way / and it’s okay.” It’s a reassuring and pleasant listen throughout.
09. Not Enough: wow a good acoustic intro broke into a rock chorus. Sounds similar to ''With Me'' by Sum41. The musical style it's oriented like those ‘90s grunge ballads. The ‘90s grunge ballads, “Not Enough,” and “Remember When” that pop up on the record are ear grabbers from the start. Both reflect Lavigne’s recent divorce situation with Deryck Whibley whom coincidently produced both songs. “I’m sorry if this hurts you,” Lavigne vulnerably warns in the beginning of “Not Enough.”
10. 4 Real: the verses are a bit boring, but the chorus gets better. It's a good ballad. But it's such a cool and deep song, with indie music vibe. Sounds pretty similar to some Dolores O'Riordan songs. The self written tracks on the record, “4 Real,” and “Goodbye” were produced solely by Lavigne, something of which she admits never saw herself doing. But with an impressive first timer producing credentials, Lavigne sings “4 Real’s” catchy ethereal bridge with the words, “Hold me down / Hold me now / I’m safe / I’m sound / When you’re around.”
11. Darlin: the simplicity of the instrumental means that Avril's voice really comes through and drives the song, which is what she said she'd wanted to achieve. This song is certainly not single-worthy but it is a nice listen. The eleven-year-old in the making track written before Lavigne ever signed a record deal, “Darlin’” is a cute uplifting acoustic number about wanting better for someone she cares for. “Pretty please / I know it’s a drag / wipe your eyes and put up your head / I wish you could be happy instead / There’s nothing else I can do but love you the best I can,” she sings.
12. Remember When: it leaves a bittersweet taste, tugging at your heart throughout. Like ''Not Enough'', this song have those '90 grunge-ballad oriented sound. “These feelings I can’t take no more / This emptiness in the bottom drawer / It’s getting harder to pretend / And I’m not coming back around again,” Lavigne sings in the self-penned number “Remember When,” chorus.
13. Goodbye Lullaby: I love the piano and the strings. It’s beautiful yet really sad. It's Lavigne's most personal song on the album, and where she named it. “Goodbye,” starts with a piano and cello as Lavigne sings goodbye to her ex-husband as a sense of closure. “Always know / That I love you so / Goodbye brown eyes / Goodbye for now / Goodbye sunshine.” The lullaby ballad rings, “La-lullaby / Help me sleep tonight.”
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