The cult of Avril Lavigne is such that people are talking about this seventh album as if the enigmatic Canadian hasn’t released one in yonks, when its predecessor, Head Above Water, only came out in 2019. Hers is a common predicament, though; whenever the 37-year-old returns with a new musical offering, she steps back onto a playing field she helped etch the lines of, her records not just familiar to her fans, but fans of the artists she’s influenced over the years. Perhaps mindful of the need to compete with her proteges and pretenders, or keen to navigate to pastures relatively new, Love Sux has enough elements to make for a refreshing listen. Don’t panic, though: this is an Avril Lavigne album in all the ways that matter – chugging but shiny, and augmented by th...
