Lavigne’s second missing ‘heat-seeking hooks’ of first
Avril Lavigne
“Under My Skin” (Arista) ••
To paraphrase a line from her song “Sk8er Boi,” could Avril Lavigne be any more obvious?
The huge success of Lavigne’s 2002 debut album, “Let Go,” owed much to the plain-spoken, unambiguous directness of her dispatches from the adolescent battleground.
On her follow-up, the 19-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter keeps her sights trained on the trials and tribulations of teendom, girl division — most memorably on “Don’t Tell Me,” an awkward but honest rejection of a boy’s sexual advances. One thing that’s missing is the heat-seeking hooks that her former writing-producing team, the Matrix, provided for three key “Let Go” songs. Lavigne’s popularity owes much to her role as a waifish, punk-lite alternative to packaged pop stars, but she’s sounding as genre-bound in her way as the synthetic singers she was supposed to be a relief from.
— Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times
Various artists
“OkayPlayer: True Notes Vol. 1” (OkayPlayer/Decon) ••• 1/2
Okayplayer.com — founded by the Roots’ drummer, Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson — is a repository for progressive hip-hop culture. So is its first CD, a compilation of widely known West Coast preachers (Dilated Peoples, Blackalicious), underground neighbors (the avant-hop of Aceyalone and Madlib), veteran hard-liners (Jean Grae, whose dramatic tunes are the disc’s best) and new old-school devotees (Skillz, Little Brother).
Along with RJD2’s brusque “Act 2,” occasional Roots rapper Dice Raw’s crusty “I Do What I Like” proves that there’s a thin line between raw and jiggy in Philly-hop. And that’s Okay.
—A.D. Amorosi, Philadelphia Inquirer
George Michael
“Patience” (Aegean/Epic) ••
The title of George Michael’s first CD in five years could refer to his own long wait between releases, but it certainly applies as advice to fans who have struggled through his post-“Faith” albums.
In 1987, “Faith” made Michael the last huge solo pop star of the ‘80s, putting him in the commercial stratosphere of that decade’s pop phenoms: Madonna, Whitney, Prince and Bruce. But he soon tired of the pop star machinery, refusing to adequately promote his downbeat follow-up, “Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1.”
On “Patience,” the effortless grace of his melodies and sheer catchiness of his “Faith”-era pop hooks has vaporized. Lyrically, this is Michael’s most personal collection, touching on his homosexuality, home and family. But without memorable melodies to frame these tunes, they waft by unremarked.
— Howard Cohen, Miami Herald