Canadian pop-rockers Simple Plan continue their quest for domination of the world’s airwaves with their new broken-heart ballad “Your Love Is A Lie”. It’s success is a given – but in this instance that’s the result of ticking all the right boxes. Well, that and the fact that it’s all over the radio like bad make-up on young goths.
“Your Love Is A Lie” has the fingerprints of big league pop producers all over it, not just in the sparkling tones and big-budget soundscaping but in the shape of the song itself; this is Simple Plan’s sensitive-but-edgy boy-band formula song, a saccharine-coated arrow aimed at the hearts of “different” girls the world over.
Credit where it’s due, “Your Love Is A Lie” leaves no switch unflicked, from the layered chorus vocals through the “you’re cheating on me but I’m more hurt than angry” lyrics to the big epic moments at which - in a video I have yet to see, but feel sure I could describe perfectly - the guitars chug back in for the emotive facial close-up shot. If you’ve been actively engaging with music as a popular artform for more than a couple of years, you’ll see Simple Plan’s simple plan mapped out from the opening chord; a fast straight highway to teen pop nirvana.
Not that there’s anything wrong with writing guitar pop; Simple Plan themselves have done a fine job of it already on previous single “When I’m Gone”, balancing the catchiness with some retained authenticity. Nor is there any crime in picking a tried and tested chord progression - indeed, Billy-Joe Armstrong of Green Day did an excellent job in “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” with exactly the same progression that Simple Plan have used here.
But for me at least, there’s a line that can be crossed – a point where catchy and accessible becomes cliché and obvious. “Your Love Is A lie” is a firm and committed step across that line, one that I feel will do Simple Plan little harm on the recognition front. And if that’s the way they want it, then good luck to them – but the more experienced listener can hardly avoid being aware that “Your Love Is A Lie” is essentially an N-Sync single with guitars. Beautifully shallow.
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Posted in Music reviews |
Tags: pop, pop-punk, Simple Plan, Your Love Is A Lie
