Simple Plan's 'Get Your Heart On!' album cover
The Canadian collective Simple Plan releases their fourth studio album today titled Get Your Heart On! This is their latest release since their self-titled album, Simple Plan, dropped in 2008. As expected, the band sticks to the blueprint that has made them successful—creating catchy pop-punk tunes for the masses. However, the album isn’t without its missteps.
From the onset, the album shows a lot of promise with a well-balanced opener in ‘You Suck At Love’. It’s a smooth song with a lively chorus that establishes the fact that Simple Plan isn’t trying to break the mold with this album. But it shows that this isn’t necessarily a bad thing either.
The album keeps the fun-loving mood alive as it moves into ‘Can’t Keep My Hands Off You’, a song about a musician’s love for his guitar, no matter how much he (or she) may think they can keep away from it. The track features Rivers Cuomo of the legendary rock band Weezer. His presence on the track is not only fitting, being an inspiration to rock artists everywhere, but it’s enjoyable.
From here, the album is somewhat of a toss-up as far as what works and what doesn’t. Songs like ‘Jet Lag’, ‘Loser Of The Year’, and ‘Freaking Me Out’ keep the energy of the Get Your Heart On! up and represent Simple Plan for what they are: a band that wants to write catchy songs that keep the show rocking. But the album is brought down by its attempts to slow things down. ‘Astronaut’ is an interesting composition that is fine musically, but falls short lyrically and feels forced conceptually. ‘Anywhere Else But Here’ is another slow song that tries to play itself off as a rock anthem, but ends up sounding more like a boring ode to lengthy, road-trip car rides that you don’t want to be a part of anymore.
Luckily, the album doesn’t end there. ‘Last One Standing’ is the kind of song fans buy concert tickets for (listen to it here). It shines because of its simplicity and its high-energy, no frills necessary, coming-at-you feel. Songs like ‘Gone Too Soon’ and ‘This Song Saved My Life’ show what Simple Plan is made of when it comes to pop-punk ballads. If all of the slower songs on Get Your Heart On! sounded like these two, it would be a solid album. Unfortunately, they don’t, and this deters from the album’s overall feel because although it opens and closes strongly, every good track in the middle of the album is interrupted by songs that don’t work.
‘Summer Paradise’ is a curious song made in collaboration with K’naan, a well-known Canadian rapper. I had high hopes for this song going in, thinking that Simple Plan would be able to show a little diversity with this number. Though it isn’t a bad song, it doesn’t stand out the way I hoped it would.
Knowing that the band completed 70 songs to choose from for this release, it’s a little upsetting that everything doesn’t feel picture perfect on this album. Putting its few faults aside, there is enough classic Simple Plan on Get Your Heart On! to make it a worthwhile purchase.
–Christopher Cusack, Hofstra University
Photo Credit: © Copyright Atlantic Records – 2011
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