We all know how the Venn diagram circles of ‘pop’ and ‘pop punk’ are once again starting to cross. From Olivia Rodrigo to Willow, 2021 has been filled with popstars echoing the spirit of 2001 – usually by calling up Travis Barker and letting him have a good old bang about.
But some of us have seen all this before. When it comes to the pop-slash-pop-punk crossover market, the throne is already taken. Avril Lavigne sits upon it, and there’s no shifting her.
That’s why it’s so great when stuff like this happens – as CHVRCHES cover Avril’s megaballad ‘I’m With You’ in a new Apple Music Home Session.
Obviously – as these things work – they’ve also provided a take of one of their own new tracks, ‘California’, taken from their just released new album ‘Screen Violence’.
“Lockdown provided a much-needed reset and helped us think about where we were going and what we really want to say in our music,” says the band’s Lauren Mayberry. “Especially lyrically, the isolation of lockdown was almost an aha moment in terms of choosing how I wanted to move forwards, and I think I’ll hold on to that. ‘California’ feels like a good illustration of what Screen Violence is about, sonically and lyrically, and we thought it would be fun to reinterpret it in an acoustic format.”
But when it comes to Avril? It’s simple. “‘I’m With You’ is a classic banger-ballad of our times,” she says.
Too right, Lauren.
If you’re a member of Apple Music, you’ll be able to stream both tracks now, below.
