Head above water

"Returning after illness and divorce, the former pop-punker has a love hangover and a chance for rebirth ... The record nonetheless comes with its own twist. Along with sophomore slumps, breakup albums remain one of pop's most enduring traditions. But rarely has anyone sounded both as wrecked and rejuvenated over the course of the same record as on Head Above Water, which is an ongoing mood swing set to music. The Lavigne heard at the beginning of the record is almost an entirely different person by the end; the hard part is figuring out which part you like more".

Read review

"Sk8er girl on thin ice ... Head Above Water is powerful, in a big old MOR power-ballad way. In fact, what the yanks call adult contemporary is very much the album's most successful mode: it's at its best when Lavigne and her co-writers forget about trends and roll out the booming drums and the kind of air-punching choruses you could imagine Heart singing in their garagantuan-haired 80s heyday. No one is ever going to describe the results as hip, but It Was in Me and Warrior are ruthlessly well-written, they fit Lavigne's voice and the soldier-on lyrical sentiment is given a little edge by the album's backstory".

Read review

"Efter at have lyttet de 12 skæringer igennem kan jeg ikke finde et eneste nummer, der giver bare det mindste mening: Teksterne kunne være skrevet af en 12-årig, produktionerne sejler rundt, genreforvirringen er total og vokalen er overproduceret helt åndssvagt. Please, Avril Lavigne. Du har tjent dine millioner. Stop med at lave musik. NU".

Read review