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Feb 14, 2019Lavigne might not have found a musical identity that truly becomes her, but Head Above Water is an effective, and occasionally affecting, album.
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Feb 14, 2019Across the record's 12 tracks, Lavigne tries on a variety of styles, inhabiting each with ease, but rarely manages to rise above and make the sound her own.
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Feb 14, 2019Lavigne has never been pop’s most sophisticated lyricist, but her plain-speaking style makes for compelling listening here. ... The album’s second half is generally happier and blander.
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Feb 19, 2019Head Above Water marks a new chapter in the singer’s lengthy body of work; it’s a shame that Lavigne thinks her high notes are all she has to give.
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Feb 15, 2019The 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.
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Feb 16, 2019These slightly above average hooks/melodies deserve better. I deserve better. So tell me it’s over.
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Feb 27, 2019She’s become her own worst nightmare – boring.
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Feb 21, 2019The best tracks here are those which delve into the power ballads that we know Lavigne can produce so effectively. But other than the album's self-titled lead single and It Was In Me, with soaring orchestrals and subtle keys paving the way for her lung-bursting croons, it feels much like a lost Lavigne seeking a sound that’ll just keep her afloat.
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Feb 20, 2019On every track, the mad-libs are paired with stylistically diverse arrangements--and invariably plodding tempos. The album’s lone sugar spike is “Dumb Blonde,” a rehashed “Girlfriend” that features a phoned-in Nicki Minaj guest verse midway through and, for some reason, a pre-chorus melody yanked from Lipps, Inc.’s “Funky Town.” In spite of everything, Head Above Water offers one brief moment where Lavigne’s emotional alchemy assumes a bolder musical form that’s properly befitting of her powerhouse vocals and enduring authenticity: the opening stunner of a title track.
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Feb 14, 2019The problem with the album’s dabblings in chart pop à la Taylor Swift (Souvenir, Goddess, Bigger Wow) and post-Amy Winehouse retro-soul (Tell Me It’s Over) isn’t that the songs are poor, or that Lavigne can’t manage the stylistic shifts. It’s more that she doesn’t impose herself on them--they could be by anyone.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 381 out of 466
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Mixed: 34 out of 466
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Negative: 51 out of 466
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Feb 15, 2019This album is so good, Devil and Birdie are perfect, just as the rest of the album.
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Feb 15, 2019
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Feb 15, 2019Wonderful album, songs with great melodies. Very good compositions. Avril's voice is amazing.