After seeing Mod Sun in full ‘sk8er boi’ mode in last single ‘Karma’’s music video, it seemed a natural progression for him to collaborate with pop-punk princess Avril Lavigne. The duo team up on new pop-rock anthem ‘Flames’ from Mod Sun’s forthcoming fourth studio album.
‘Flames’ opens with a piano accompanying Lavigne in a sweet chorus that could be straight from her 2019 album, Head Above Water. Suddenly, with a crash of percussion and the thrash of rock guitars, Mod Sun adds a post-chorus snarl: “Up in flames, up in flames / Light a match and put it to my name.”
The aggression tones down as Mod Sun powers through the staccato verse lines, before we switch back to the gentle tones of Lavigne on the chorus. As ‘Flames’ progresses, the basslines ramp upwards and we engage in a seesaw of pop-punk vocal delivery from both artists, before Lavigne softly closes out the track.
The song – running at only two minutes thirty seconds – is a breathless, enjoyable romp through pop-punk territory. As a Lavigne fan, this marks a joyful return to form for the “motherfucking princess”, blending her mature vocal range with the brattish delivery of her early work. For Mod Sun it is a perfect introduction to a more mainstream audience. The nicely planted ear-worm chorus will keep us all singing until the album drops.
Feature compiled by Andrew Butcher
Check out Andrew’s blog here.
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Yes! This song marks a return for Avril Lavigne returning to her punk-pop princess roots and her upcoming new album which will drop this year has been confirmed by Avril as a return to the genre she helped popularize which is punk-pop and she is collaborating with Machine Gun Kelly on her new album as well so 2021 looks like it will be the year that punk-pop returns in a big way.