Avril Lavigne, “Love it When You Hate Me” | Track Review

Avril Lavigne, assisted by blackbear, makes us reminisce back to the pop-punk/emo era of the aughts with “Love it When You Hate Me.”

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ack in the day, Avril Lavigne had a successful run.  Hard to believe that ‘back in the day’ was the aughts – my how time flies! Although the Canadian musician is just 37, she’s past her prime by restless music industry standards.  Even so, she manages to muster some bite and that beloved angst on her latest single, “Love it When You Hate Me”, set to appear on 2022 album, Love Sux. Lavigne gets some help from the versatile blackbear.  Blackbear serves as a writer alongside Lavigne, as does Derek “MOD SUN” Smith and John Feldmann.  Consider “Love it When You Hate Me” a throwback to the aughts!

Early on, Avril Lavigne is locked in – true to self.  “Love it When You Hate Me” begins abruptly, without intro, with Lavigne proclaiming, “I’m a lush / And I’m drunk again off another crush, don’t rush.” Oh snap!  After setting things up during the first verse, the sing-along, energetic chorus confirms this is an Avril song with its quick tempo, rhythmic guitars, and those surefire punk vibes:

“Don’t call me baby, I love it when you hate me

I know it’s crazy, I love it when you hate me

The highs, the lows, the yes, the no’s

You’re so hot when you get cold

Don’t call me baby, I love it when you hate me.”

Woo! Blackbear arrives for the first time on the second verse, providing clear contrast to Lavigne. His verse has more of a melodic rap vibe – and more swear words (“Running out of fucks that I could give to you / But you could still be pretty on the inside too / … Should’ve seen the red flags, but for you, I’m fucking blind”). Lavigne / blackbear join forces following his verse – two distinctly different voices for sure.

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Final Thoughts  

So, how does “Love it When You Hate Me” stack up? All in all, it’s an enjoyable post-prime Avril Lavigne record.  She still has the bite that made her a force ‘back in the day.’ Will “Love it When You Hate Me” be a hit?  While I’m skeptical of ‘hit status,’ never say never.  What I’m NOT skeptical about is the fact that this record is a throwback to the aughts, making you reminisce about the days when pop-punk/emo were big.

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Avril Lavigne • Love Sux • DTA / Elektra • 2.25.22
[: Brent Faulkner, DTA, Elektra, The Musical Hype, OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay]

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