Album Review: Simple Plan - Harder Than It Looks

Harder Than It Looks is Simple Plan’s 6th studio album.

WORDS BY JAZMIN LEMUS

Simple Plan’s new album, Harder Than It Looks comes 20 years after the band’s debut album, No Pads, No Helmets…Just Balls! The pop punk band’s sound has matured, yes, but Harder Than It Looks still has the sound that we were introduced to 20 years ago.

The album kicks off with “Wake Me Up (When This Nightmare’s Over)”. With the first verse, listeners can find it to be relevant to anything in their lives. Due to the timing and looking back at what the last 2+ years have been like for many people, some listeners may apply the lyrics to the experiences they’ve encountered during this time period. “Ruin My Life” is the second track and it feature’s Sum 41’s very own Deryck Whibley! This song is an example of how their sound has matured, but you can still hear old school Simple Plan. Deryck’s voice would be recognizable to anyone who is a fan of Sum 41 and the pop punk scene in general. Continuing onto “The Antidote”, the song starts off slowly and it speeds up during the chorus, but every time a verse starts, it’s slow. When you listen to the song, you wonder who the antidote is. A partner? A friend? A parent? A child? A dog?! Or maybe even music?

“Million Pictures of You” is a head bopper and the chorus will make people dance. “Anxiety” is not the Simple Plan we’re used to. It’s more pop than punk. Lyrically, fans will relate when they hear lines such as “Anxiety, get away from me”. Following “Anxiety” is “Congratulations”, a fun head bopper that turns out to be one of the fastest songs on the album. “Iconic” has more rock to it and you can even hear some horns in the chorus. It almost feels like this type of song could be used in a boxing/fighting scene in a film or TV show because of the sound and the lyrics: “They say I'll never leave a legacy, but one day, you're gonna see the best of me. Wait 'til you see. I'm gonna be iconic.”

“Best Day of My Life” is another one of the fastest jams from start to finish and if Simple Plan were to play this song live, there is no question that someone would try to start a circle pit. With lyrics such as “Today, I'll live like my blessings are full. There's light at the end of the tunnel. There's always a blessing in disguise or by your side. And I, I'm on the top of the world. I'm holding my chin up high 'cause I'm living every day like it's the best fuckin' day of my life”, one can only get pumped up and look at things in a more positive way, should they not be having the best day. “Slow Motion” is very upbeat with a balanced mix of pop punk and rock.

The last track of the album is “Two”. The song starts with a slow introduction as vocals crescendo leading into the chorus. Seeing as what the theme of the song is and how it was written, it makes sense as to why the song is the album’s closer. This song may be relatable to fans that came from divorced or broken families. While the theme is a hard topic to talk about, Simple Plan addressed a real life situation in this song. And really, they address a number of issues throughout the album.

Over the last 20 years, Simple Plan has written songs that fans can relate to and the songs on Harder Than It Looks are no different. For some, this album is just a continuation of Simple Plan doing that. At the same time, this album, will be an introduction of the band for new fans and when they go back and study the band’s discography, they’ll see that Simple Plan has been doing this throughout the band’s history.

To purchase/stream Harder Than It Looks, you can do so HERE.