Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | (65) |
| Allmusic | |
| Blender | |
| Entertainment Weekly | (B) |
| The Guardian | |
| PopMatters | (Neutral) |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Slant Magazine | |
| Yahoo! Music | (6/10) |
According to metacritic.com, Under My Skin received an average rating of 65, reflecting a generally positive reception from critics.
David Browne of Entertainment Weekly suggested that in the album, "Lavigne has become even more, well, complicated", noting she "sounds more burdened". Browne adds, "As contrived as the results can be, there's no denying the level of craft at work." Sal Cinquemani of Slant magazine noted that Lavigne's sound was now much heavier and darker and compared her to Amy Lee of Evanescence, as did Browne. Carly Carioli of Blender magazine also agreed, stating "she has deepened and darkened her sound without sacrificing her platinum-plated melodies". Kelefa Sanneh of Rolling Stone praised Lavigne's vocals, "blankness is what makes her best songs so irresistible. Whether it's a fit of faux punk or a maudlin ballad, she sings it all absolutely straight". Musically the album's sound is compared to "that of crunching punk guitars playing mighty power chords, all mixed with the same flawless elan that has characterized pop-punk ever since Green Day dropped Dookie" says Tim O'Neil of PopMatters. Andrew Strickland of Yahoo! Music agreed, "the girl can use those tiny lungs to great effect...she knows when to croon and when to yell".
On a more negative note, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic writes, "... Under My Skin is a bit awkward, sometimes sounding tentative and unsure, sometimes clicking and surging on Avril's attitude and ambition." Erlewine compared Lavigne to Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette. Cinquemani called Lavigne's "biggest weakness" her lyrics and Strickland agreed, stating "we have a maturing Ms Lavigne, distancing herself from the teen antics of her "Let Go" debut, but struggling to find any stories worth telling". Tim O'Neil of PopMatters stated "Lavigne's songwriting on the bulk of Under My Skin just seems rote" and goes on to call Under My Skin "a good, if slightly disappointing, follow-up". The Guardian's Alexis Petridis lambasted the album, calling it a "flesh-eating virus" and criticised the lyrics, stating "the music is so anodyne that you don't pay much attention to Lavigne's lyrics. This proves to be a small mercy". Under My Skin is included in an article about Petridis' worst reviewed albums of modern times.
Read more about this topic: Under My Skin (Avril Lavigne album)
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