Harder Than It Looks

Harder Than It Looks is the sixth studio album by Canadian rock band Simple Plan, released on May 6, 2022. It is their first record in six years since Taking One for the Team (2016), their first album without Atlantic Records, and the last album to feature any contributions of bassist David Desrosiers,[2] as he was fired from the band in 2020 for sexual misconduct allegations, although his bass parts were recorded in 2019.

Harder Than It Looks
A photo of the band dressed as a chef, gardner, construction worker, and office worker respectively, sitting on a stone bench. The band's name appears on a concrete wall and the album title is on a sidewalk's edge, both are colored white.
Studio album by
Simple Plan
ReleasedMay 6, 2022
StudioVan Howes Studios
GenrePop-punk[1]
Length34:35
LabelSelf-released
ProducerPierre Bouvier, Zakk Cervini, Brian Howes, Jason "JVP" Poederooyen
Simple Plan chronology
Taking One for the Team
(2016)		 Harder Than It Looks
(2022)
Singles from Harder Than It Looks
  1. "The Antidote"
    Released: November 5, 2021
  2. "Ruin My Life"
    Released: February 18, 2022
  3. "Congratulations"
    Released: March 15, 2022
  4. "Wake Me Up (When This Nightmare's Over)"
    Released: April 8, 2022

The album garnered positive reviews from critics. Harder Than It Looks spawned four singles: "The Antidote", "Ruin My Life" with Sum 41's Deryck Whibley, "Congratulations" and "Wake Me Up (When This Nightmare's Over)". To promote the record, the band toured across the United States and Southeast Asia.

Background and production

The band stated that the album will be a return to their pop-punk roots.[1][3] This is the band's first album to be released since the departure of longtime bassist David Desrosiers after his sexual misconduct allegations, although the band hinted in 2018 at his involvement within the recording process via Instagram.[4]

Singles and promotion

On November 5, 2021, Simple Plan released "The Antidote", their first single in two years.[5] On January 5, 2022, a music video for the single was released.[6] On February 18, the band released the album's second single "Ruin My Life", a collaboration with Sum 41's Deryck Whibley, along with an accompanying music video.[7] On March 15, the band announced the album's May 6 release date, along with its third single "Congratulations".[8] On April 8, the band released the album's fourth single, "Wake Me Up (When This Nightmare's Over)".[9]

On May 6, 2022, the band announced a 31-city United States tour to promote the album, starting on May 10 at The Fillmore Detroit and finishing on August 28 at the Worcester Palladium, with Set It Off and Magnolia Park as supporting acts.[10] On December 23, the band announced on Instagram that their doing a Southeast Asia leg of their tour for 2023, beginning on March 4 with a performance at Jakarta's Everblast Festival and ending on March 12 at Davao's SMX Convention Center.[11] On March 20 of that year, the band was announced alongside Sum 41 as special guests on The Offspring's summer tour supporting their tenth album Let the Bad Times Roll.[12]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Distorted Sound Magazine7/10[13]
Kerrang!4/5[14]
Riff Magazine7/10[15]
Sputnikmusic2.5/5[16]
Upset[17]
Wall of Sound9/10[18]

Tamara May of Wall of Sound gave the album high praise for its mature delivery of the band's pop punk style of "extremely catchy melodies to lyrical themes of despair and hopelessness" while also expanding the experimental pop sound from their 2008 self-titled record, saying "Harder Than It Looks really tries its hardest to incorporate the band's strengths, while also making an attempt to be their most diverse-sounding album, and they've succeeded." She concluded that: "Our favourite Canadian pop punkers have nailed this record once again by producing their most authentic selves in their 20-year tenure, and it’s sure to win over fans as much as their high school selves did."[18] Mike DeWald of Riff Magazine wrote: "Harder Than It Looks is a continuation for a band that's stayed true to its sound from the start. Simple Plan is aging gracefully, no longer writing songs about teenage angst and rebellion; instead focusing on the better days to come." Tasha Brown of Distorted Sound Magazine wrote: "Shaking off the shackles of record labels, Simple Plan returns to their roots for ten tracks of arguably their best material since their 2008 self-titled effort."[13]

Conversely, Jesper L. of Sputnikmusic felt the band were still "absolutely horrendous at incorporating elements of post-2005 pop", criticizing "Anxiety" and "Iconic" for "dreadfully repetitive choruses, painfully misplaced horns, and not a single hint of energy or authenticity." He backhandedly commended the album's "monotony of vaguely competent pop rock" for showcasing the band's "autopilot" musicianship of "overly simplistic yet catchy riffs, big-capital-b choruses, and some of the whiniest vocals" on "Wake Me Up (When This Nightmare's Over)", "Million Pictures of You" and "The Antidote". He concluded that: "There's nothing to the album outside of this; there's no element to draw in new listeners or keep the old ones coming back. It just kind of exists. Simple Plan just kind of exist, but then again, so do I."[16]

Track listing
Harder Than It Looks track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Wake Me Up (When This Nightmare's Over)"3:36
2."Ruin My Life" (featuring Deryck Whibley)3:19
3."The Antidote"3:16
4."Million Pictures of You"3:26
5."Anxiety"3:30
6."Congratulations"3:17
7."Iconic"3:06
8."Best Day of My Life"3:27
9."Slow Motion"4:00
10."Two"3:38
Total length:34:35

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's booklet.[19]

Simple Plan

  • Pierre Bouvier – lead vocals, piano on "Wake Me Up (When This Nightmare's Over)", additional programming, keyboards
  • Chuck Comeau – drums
  • Sebastien Lefebvre – rhythm guitars, backing vocals
  • Jeff Stinco – lead guitar

Additional musicians

  • Deryck Whibley - guest vocals (track 2)
  • David Desrosiers - bass guitar

Production

Design

  • Chapman Baehler – album photography
  • Simple Plan – art direction and concept
  • Fred Jérôme – art direction and concept, layout design

Charts
Chart performance for Harder Than It Looks
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[20] 67
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[21] 59
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[22] 84
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] 82
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[24] 60
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] 36
UK Album Downloads (OCC)[26] 32
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[27] 44
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[28] 25
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[29] 90

References
  1. Carter, Emily (March 16, 2022). "Simple Plan announce new album, Harder Than It Looks". Kerrang!. Archived from the original on May 5, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  2. Kelly, Brendan (May 5, 2022). "Simple Plan recaptures spirit of its youth on Harder Than It Looks". Montreal Gazette. Archived from the original on July 10, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  3. "Simple Plan announces 'Harder Than it Looks'". The Music Universe. March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  4. "Today is #worldmentalhealthday and we simply wanted to let everyone know how much we love and support our friend and bandmate @daviddesrosiers..." Simple Plan. October 10, 2018 – via Instagram.
  5. Carter, Emily (November 5, 2021). "Simple Plan drop first new single in two years, The Antidote". Kerrang!. Archived from the original on November 15, 2022. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  6. Linzinmeir, Taylor (January 5, 2022). "Simple Plan's "The Antidote" video captures the growth of young love". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  7. Bobkin, Matt (February 18, 2022). "Simple Plan and Sum 41 Bury the Hatchet with New Collaborative Single "Ruin My Life"". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  8. "Simple Plan have announced their new album Harder Than it Looks". Upset. March 16, 2022. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  9. May, Tamara (April 8, 2022). "Simple Plan Unveil LP Opening Track, 'Wake Me Up (When This Nightmare's Over)'". Wall of Sound. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  10. Lane, Kwase (May 6, 2022). "Simple Plan share highly anticipated sixth album 'Harder Than It Looks'—listen". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on December 18, 2022. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  11. Singh, Surej (December 23, 2022). "Simple Plan announce Southeast Asia tour dates in Singapore, the Philippines and more". NME. Archived from the original on June 11, 2023. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  12. "The Offspring "Let The Bad Times Roll" Tour With Special Guests Sum 41 And Simple Plan To Visit Pine Knob Music Theatre August 23". 313 Presents. March 20, 2023. Archived from the original on June 11, 2023. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  13. Brown, Tasha. "Album Review: Harder Than It Looks – Simple Plan". Distorted Sound Magazine. Archived from the original on June 11, 2023.
  14. Richardson, Jake (May 3, 2022). "Album review: Simple Plan – Harder Than It Looks". Kerrang!. Archived from the original on June 5, 2022. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  15. DeWald, Mike (May 2, 2022). "Album Review: Simple Plan keeps it uncomplicated on 'Harder Than It Looks'". Riff Magazine. Archived from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  16. Jesper L. (May 8, 2022). "Review: Simple Plan - Harder Than It Looks". Sputnikmusic. Archived from the original on June 11, 2023. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  17. "Simple Plan – Harder Than It Looks". Upset. May 30, 2022. Archived from the original on June 11, 2023. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  18. May, Tamara (May 3, 2022). "Simple Plan – Harder Than It Looks (Album Review)". Wall of Sound. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  19. Harder Than It Looks (booklet). Simple Plan. 2022. SP220204.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 16 May 2022". The ARIA Report. No. 1680. Australian Recording Industry Association. May 16, 2022. p. 6.
  21. "Austriancharts.at – Simple Plan – Harder Than It Looks" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  22. "Simple Plan Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  23. "Offiziellecharts.de – Simple Plan – Harder Than It Looks" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  24. "Billboard Japan Hot Albums: 2022/05/11 公開". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  25. "Swisscharts.com – Simple Plan – Harder Than It Looks". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  26. "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  27. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  28. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  29. "Simple Plan Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
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