I could probably mistake this band for a group of 16 year olds now that I think about it. I was channel surfing and noticed that MTV had a "Behind the warped tour with Simple Plan" segment coming up and figured that I had to see that. It was too good. They all had their perfectly spiked hair, except for the bald guy, and acted like children that somehow stole instruments and decided to jump around a lot. Punk rock was bound to be exploited (no pun intended because the Exploited were a disgrace to punk rock) and I knew that this day would come. Hey, it has been coming for years and is now in full force with the new boy bands (following the demise of the likes of Nsync and the Backstreet Boys) complete with relationship confidentiality contracts. Throw in the goofy stage presence (i.e. Everyone jump on cue) and a rowdy group of underage girls and boys in Hot Topic fatigue and put Simple Plan on the mainstage but not for their talent.

They need to live it up now because songs about "sneaking out of your parents house on Friday night" just won't fly when you're thirty, or twenty-five. How long will it last?...


Good Stuff   November 6, 2002
Ron (Jersey)
11 out of 12 found this review helpful

If you like Blink 182, Sum 41 or Green Day, you really can't miss with this band. A solid first album with great hooks and nice harmony. Don't expect anything real deep, but fans of pop-punk should really enjoy this. Keep an eye out for another new band called Good Charlotte


Well-captured teen angst combined with catchy music   November 1, 2003
Gary M. Greenbaum (Fairfax, VA USA)
34 out of 43 found this review helpful

Simple Plan captures nicely--and perhaps takes to extremes--the emotion felt by adolescents on the edge of adulthood, when it seems to them that the world is falling on them, that their lives are the worst ever lived, and that they are alone and stand little chance of establishing any emotional connection with anyone. Combine that with catchy melodies, good vocals, and a nice beat, and Simple Plan has come up with a, um, simple plan for talking to the darkness and insecurity that lurks in the heart of everyone from junior high through college age, and even older.

Each of the songs takes the point of view of a lonely kid who has reached the edge of adulthood, only to find that things aren't all they were cracked up to be. It may be a kid who can't find or who has lost a girlfriend ("Addicted" or "Meet You There"), or who has entered the working world and feels the loss of childhood ("The Worst Day Ever")or whose parental relationships have frayed in bitterness ("Perfect" or "One Day"). But each kid is alone, without anyone to share his hurt, and without much ability to put his hurt into perspective, therefore such titles as "The Worst Day Ever" and "God Must Hate Me" (decried in some reviews) do sum up what the person is feeling--and what we sometimes feel in our hearts, however grown up we may happen to be.

Contains two bonus tracks from the earlier version of the CD, which are songs much more juvenile than the others, "One By One", and "Grow Up" (the character doesn't wanna).

Each song uses simple, often powerful language, to express the depression and angst. Yet, on balance, we feel that the characters are going to get past this. There is no sense that the kids are going to spiral downwards with drugs, crime, or other self-destructive behavior. The lonely kid will eventually find his girl, the kid bitter at his relationship with his parents will eventually find an adult relationship with them.

Perhaps the most powerful song, though, interestingly, the fourth released as a single, is "Perfect", the song of a kid addressing his dad (most likely in his mind), and grieving over the formerly good relationship they had which has turned sour. The words are alternately bitter, sad, and hurtful, until at last the kid comes to terms with the fact that the relationship is gone, and all he can do is go on with his life despite his dad's disapproval of the way he's living it. It is powerful stuff, and perhaps a broader age range can relate to this particular song.

Simple Plan has struck a chord with this CD. I suspect, though, that there is a limit to how far they can delve into teen angst with any degree of success. I await their second album (Spring 2004) with interest.