Head Above Water
by Avril Lavigne
  • Record Label: BMG
  • Release Date: Feb 15, 2019
User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 466 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 381 out of 466
  2. Mixed: 34 out of 466
  3. Negative: 51 out of 466
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  1. JaggedLittlePil
    Feb 15, 2019
    3
    The title of the album hints to the one and only good track on the album. Avril totally wasted a chance to make a good album since her last 2 were really disappointing. But this is just useless. 9/12 songs are so basic that if anybody out here sing them there would be no difference. What a pity.
  2. SiberianFuhrer
    Feb 18, 2019
    0
    Как можно было так скатиться. После гениальных первых двух альбомов все хуже и хуже. Этот альбом уже просто дно. Где рок? В каком жанре вообще она начала работать? Такое ощущение, что раньше писала песни не она. Верните старого автора!Как можно было так скатиться. После гениальных первых двух альбомов все хуже и хуже. Этот альбом уже просто дно. Где рок? В каком жанре вообще она начала работать? Такое ощущение, что раньше писала песни не она. Верните старого автора!
  3. memorylapse
    Feb 15, 2019
    0
    After everything she's been through, I was expecting a mature, personal and deep album. Instead, we got the worst possible. Of course her blind fans are going to come here to give it a 10 but this album is a HUGE, MASSIVE disappointment. Listening to it was painful. Poorly written songs, shallow lyrics, ridiculous teen pop even though she's 30 and generic sound without a trace ofAfter everything she's been through, I was expecting a mature, personal and deep album. Instead, we got the worst possible. Of course her blind fans are going to come here to give it a 10 but this album is a HUGE, MASSIVE disappointment. Listening to it was painful. Poorly written songs, shallow lyrics, ridiculous teen pop even though she's 30 and generic sound without a trace of personality. Sad because she used to be one of my favorite artists. The album sounds like a collection of effortless soulless songs that any other untalented artist could have sang. Plus a disastrous duet with Nicki Minaj. One of the biggest musical fails EVER.… Expand
  4. aarisdreams
    Jan 6, 2020
    0
    As a long time "original" fan (loved her first three albums, the sounds were godly imo), I couldn't have been more disappointed with the direction she's taken over time. Not surprised this album received the ratings it did from its critics. Not a single song from this album appealed enough to me to download or get into. Things like how she pronounced "bananas" in Goddess just solidifiedAs a long time "original" fan (loved her first three albums, the sounds were godly imo), I couldn't have been more disappointed with the direction she's taken over time. Not surprised this album received the ratings it did from its critics. Not a single song from this album appealed enough to me to download or get into. Things like how she pronounced "bananas" in Goddess just solidified how much of a joke this all seems to be. On top of that, the album was delayed for many years. My frustration is so long and deep that I don't even know in which order to sum it all up. I'll always have a special place for her in my heart because she was practically my entire childhood and young adulthood, but mainly because of how her lyrics haven't grown at all, I'll have to leave my stan card here. I'll give her next album a listen, but until then my feelings will stay this way.… Expand
  5. Erick2302
    Aug 16, 2021
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Un álbum innecesario, creo que jamás debió existir. Es mejor que esa moda del 2000 se retire, ya nadie la quiere.… Expand
  6. Amyly
    Jun 29, 2021
    2
    Head Above Water the song was the only good track, after one listen there is no desire in going back to it. Very dated and boring, her worst album and a big flop in commercial success.
  7. someonewhocares
    Jan 6, 2023
    1
    maybe the lyme disease got to her head, and made her forget how to make a consistent and fun body of work.

Awards & Rankings

15
#15 Most Discussed Album of 2019

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
55

Mixed or average reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. NOW Magazine
    Feb 27, 2019
    40
    She’s become her own worst nightmare – boring.
    Read full review
  2. The Skinny
    Feb 21, 2019
    40
    The 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.
    Read full review
  3. Spin
    Feb 20, 2019
    40
    On 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.
    Read full review
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