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Things don't kick off to a good start with a bit of messy synth, and the announcement "I cannot find a way to describe it" at the start of "Take Me Away." Following it is the raggedly cliched "Together," the bouncy you-let-me-down "My Happy Ending," light rock "Nobody's Home," and the chest-beating "Freak Out." Most overrated is the tepid, poppy "Don't Tell Me," a mix of abstinence and girl-power anthem that doesn't live up to its promise.

The general themes are pretty much the same -- she's been let down in affairs of the heart, and she's a tough, unafraid, does-her-own-thing rock chick. Neither is particularly heartfelt -- she insists that she doesn't care, that she's strong and isn't afraid, then puts out helpless cries of "Please cry with me" and "I can't handle this confusion." Be vulnerable or tough, but make up your mind.

Lavigne's voice is pretty much standard pop stuff -- she can hold a note, but can't make it rise, and her voice is suited to the tepid guitar pop that is played behind her. The music itself is pop masquerading as rock -- dig down past the electric guitars and limp basslines, and you'll find basic, repetitive pop rhythms. It's fairly catchy, but almost instantly forgettable.

Lavigne actually pens some of the songs solo this time around, although most are cowritten with songwriting team the Matrix. Unfortunately, neither solo or cowritten songs are much good. "Na na," "ah ah" and "oh oh" are written in as part of the lyrics, which include such gems as "Walk around with my hands/up in the air/cause I don't care" and the cringingly awful "How does it feel to be/different from me?" MTV pop poetry doesn't get much more insightful than that.

Teen pop queen Avril Lavigne still wavers helplessly between vulnerability and I'm-a-tough-girl-don't-mess-with-me, all behind a wall of canned guitar pop and tepid songwriting. It gets "Under My Skin," all right... like a splinter.


More than exceeded the high expectations of this Avril fan   July 3, 2004
 93 out of 119 found this review helpful

Following up a smash hit debut album is possibly harder than getting that first magical recording contract in the first place - the artist oftentimes feels he/she must outdo himself/herself, and fans oftentimes resist any deviation from what has come before. Many young artists crash and burn, never to be heard from again. Avril Lavigne is not among those, and with this really quite incredible sophomore release she cements her place in the present and future of the music industry. While there are echoes of Let Go to be found here, I found this to be a surprisingly different album from its predecessor - the artist has grown as a person, a musician, and a song writer, and the expanding life experiences of this remarkably talented teenager have infused her music with a palpable sense of something quite real and deep that speaks volumes to the listener.

I have been listening to this album constantly since it came out (and I might mention Avril Lavigne is one of the few artists whose new album I simply had to purchase as soon as it was released), and I can't find a bad song on here. Not only is this a five-star album, it is a collection of twelve five-star songs, in my opinion. I have a sentimental attachment to many of the songs from Let Go, but as a whole this new album is a much more impressive offering. Avril co-wrote each of these songs, and as far as I'm concerned, the doubts some voice about her song-writing abilities are quite misplaced. The first single, Don't Tell Me, is a great song and in some ways it forms a natural bridge from the first album to the second, but it is far from the best song on the album. Take Me Away starts Under My Skin off with a bang; there's no gradual immersion into this new album, as Avril reaches out and yanks you by the collar from the very start. Then comes Together, which I love; teen angst fuels the fire of this song, and the manner in which Avril delivers the chorus of this song really appeals to me. He Wasn't is a fantastic song of independence and self-worth; its up-tempo delivery has a Green Day feel to it, and the song itself is all about not settling for anything less than the best.

How Does It Feel is the only track that didn't win me over immediately, and at first I wasn't sure there was really much to this song; over time, though, I have come to appreciate and love its comparatively simple style and delivery. In this song as well as the album's final track, Avril seems to step away from the bold and brash persona she carries so well to reveal a little bit of her soul. My Happy Ending has hit single written all over it; this song of dreams unfulfilled sweeps a vast panorama of the singer's soul, as she moves back and forth between regret at what has been lost and inspiring defiance at the wrong that has been done. This theme is reinforced by Nobody's Home, the subject of which lacks such inner strength, and Fall to Pieces sort of falls under the same broad theme. I think Forgotten might be my favorite song on the album, as it gives us Avril at her most fiery and determined - when she says she won't be forgotten again, she really means it.

If you're looking for strong shades of Let Go, I think you'll want to direct your attention to Who Knows and Freak Out; these are tracks of great energy and pace, speaking ably to Avril's amazing mesh of inner strength, confidence, and vulnerability. Slipped Away closes the album out quite impressively. Dedicated to the memory of Avril's grandfather, Slipped Away is a moving tribute to a loved one who has been lost.

And there you have it: twelve great songs on one very impressive album. Let no one doubt that Avril Lavigne will be a forceful and innovative force in music for some time to come.


Boring garbage??   June 4, 2004
 31 out of 40 found this review helpful

Yah right, what are you people listening too? She doesn't have anything in common with Aerosmith, so stop comparing already. I'm Canadian, & I've never heard of Rush, so no comment. This album is a hundred times better then Let Go. Let Go is an embarrassement to this. Much improvement Avril has made, she writes a lot her songs with hardly any help, she's playing guitar live now, which is awesome, before she only played for like 3 songs(Tomorrow, Naked & Things I'll Never Say). Now, she's playing guitar live for almost all her songs, if not all. I saw her perform at Much last Friday, on TV that is, every new song she performed, 8 songs it was, she played guitar for except Forgotten & Slipping Away she played piano. She's far more talented now, & I don't know how anyone can not like this album unless you absolutely despised Avril in the 1st place, but then what's the point of listening to this then if you know you're already going to hate it. Well, here's a quick review:

Take Me Away: 5/5 This song is awesome, the chorus rocks, & verses are amazing.

Together: 4.5/5 If you actually listen to it, the lyrics are very meaningful, the pre-chorus is my favourite part. I'm using this song for my Poetry Project in English, which is kinda cool!!

Don't Tell Me: 4.5/5 Who can't love her first single? Unless you hear it so often you get sick of it. Well, I was close, until I decided to stop listening to it for a while, & hey, that works. I still really love it!! Fun song

He Wasn't: 5/5 Speaking of fun songs, this is definitely one of them. I love the guitar, the chorus, everything about it!!

How Does It Feel: 5/5 An cool slow song, which you don't get too often. I love this song, it's so innovative & emotional. I didn't cry or anything, but it's sad & cool.

My Happy Ending: 4.5/5 Fun, fun, fun!~!

Nobody's Home: 5/5 Very thoughtful song, this is the one I was going to use for my Poetry assignment but changed my mind at the last second, I love this song! Terrific.

Forgotten: 5/5 Now this is punk!! Simply fantastic.

Who Knows: 4.5/5 Outstanding!! I love it. Tells you to be happy about life & don't be afraid to take chances, something alot of people need as a confidence booster.

Fall to Pieces: 4/5 I like this song, it's catchy, & meaningful, only a little too personal for my likings but awesome just the same, great!!

Freak Out: 5/5 NOw this is the Avril we all know & love, it's time to just rock out!!

Slipping Away: 5/5 But not too this song, slowest song on the album, but it is pretty!!

Note: She wrote Fall to Pieces with Raine Maida(Our Lady Peace) & Together/He Wasn't/How Does It Feel/Forgotten/Who Knows/Slipped Away with Chantal Kreviazuk. Also includes a free mini poster with 2 sides, ones the cover, & ones just another picture of her. Very pretty!!

Overall, terrific album, I look forward to hearing more of her. Somethings telling me this girl is sticking around for a while!!


Uncompromised and proud to be a fan of Avril...   May 30, 2004
 29 out of 38 found this review helpful

I have listened to every single song on the "Under My Skin" album and I enjoyed them very much. I have Avril's first album "Let Go", which is one of those albums I could play all the way through without having to skip tracks to get to the one I like, this new album is like that for me as well. I like all of the songs, but I personally enjoyed a song called "Slipped Away", its very pretty. I think its words are different from the usual guys are jerks-type lyrics. And with that said about the album itself...
I don't feel you have to compromise yourself to anything just because you listen to it. You are listening to the person's voice and to the music, not what the person is like in real life necessarily. I don't think anyone can say for sure what Avril is like or anybody for that matter, unless they actually know them. There are so many regular non-celebrity people out there in the world who are so-called fake, but its hard to point a finger at them because there are so many, but we choose to point out the ones we can, like Avril for example. All I know is that I can appreciate her love for her music/career and her talent as a singer. She has a really great voice. As for style... I wouldn't care if she performed on stage in a burlap sack. Its all about what she brings to her music.


Lavigne Losing Grip   August 26, 2004
 27 out of 53 found this review helpful

In 1995 an album titled Jagged Little Pill under Madonna's then-new fledgling label, Maverick Records, managed to make pop history. A collection of raw rock ditties put together by a little-know artist by the name of Alanis Morrisette broke records and launched a platform for every female artist. Not coincidentally the Lilith Fair era was on the rise back then, because music audiences started paying attention to female singer songwriters from a folk / rock category, which was predominantly testosterone-filled arena.
Almost a decade later, this phenomenon has faded, not because of lack of material or emerging artists, but because of an underlying sexist factor. It's not easy to have a strong woman signed to a label. Sinead O'Conner, anyone?
Artists such as Joan Osborne and Alana Davis have been dropped from their label. Natalie Merchant and Tracy Chapman have both been mistreated by their companies. Both Fiona Apple and Sarah McLachlan took an immensely long hiatus. And the rise of Rap and Hip Hop left everybody wondering what the next big things is.
Of course, in true music biz fashion, the moguls created more package-ready and compact pretty versions of what was earthy and not so manufactured artists.
This spans everyone from the awfully bland Michelle Branch to the more recent tragedy FeFe Dobson. However, the most successfully one of that bunch has to be faux-punk Avril Lavigne - The bigwig's way of cashing into teenage rebellion by avoiding the pretty counter-Britney.
Let Go, her first album, annoyed everyone with the drag-along "Complicated" only partially rising with "Sk8er Boi" and then "Losing Grip." Offering boring balladry in "I'm With You" along the way. With those songs she tapped into the heart of every girl and boy who are furious for not wanting to do their homework, thus collecting money and some ill-conceived recognition from critics.
Under My Skin is the second round for this wide-eyed little Barbie punk. The album's glossy booklet demonstrates her undying effort at making herself look tough. Avril already scored a hit the mundane "Don't Tell Me" and now gaining swift success with the slightly brighter "My Happy Ending." Other than the video magic, Avril sifts through this hapless release with a great mush of rock songs that are destined to temporarily spark a kid's interest and then disappear as a funny period of pop culture, kind of like the powers rangers. There is no difference between, say, "Fall To Pieces," "Take Me Away" and the closing track "Slipped Away."
"Nobody's Home" and "Forgotten" are apt for Avril fans - both songs of bubblegum anguish.
This is not to say that Lavigne won't be a favorite with MTV still and have a growing catalogue of hits, but she has yet to prove that she is an individual artist with a profound talent other than the physical and musical tweaking of industry masterminds.
If Sid Vicious knew that punk would come to this, he wouldn't have bothered.