For their self-titled third album, the men of
Simple Plan have stepped back, at least a little, from their roles as spokesdudes
for duh-filled mallternative rock. After albums called No Pads, No Helmets… Just
Balls and Still Not Getting Any, there was only one way to go anyway: more mature. Sadly,
this change does little more than add homogeneity to a formula that had plenty
already. Simple Plan represents the furthest pop-punk can travel from the
Buzzcocks' late-'70s blueprint. Hit-factory production (courtesy of Nate "Danja"
Hills and Avril Lavigne/Kelly Clarkson sound doctor Max Martin) offers up glossy
rockers ("When I'm Gone" and "The End") and glossy rockers attempting sensitivity
("I Can Wait Forever"). Think Lavigne's "Girlfriend" without the hooks, but
with a discernable degree of emo introspection.
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