Favorite LS Deluxe Track

Upon listening to the album in its entirety, it’s definitely IAM for me.

I appreciate “I’m a Mess” and I think it’s a great song. However, I don’t find it to be my favourite track for a few reasons. Mostly, I think it’s safe. It’s well produced, catchy, features a big name and is just an all around classic Avril power ballad and I’m glad I have it in my life.

But at the end of the day, my vote goes to “Mercury in Retrograde”. Even though it’s short, I admire her stepping slightly out of her realm with it but not drastically like she’d done with Bad Girl or Dumb Blonde. Lyrically, it’s been a while since we’ve heard Avril singing about having a bad day, and I think she really shines with “slice of life” lyrics - they’re easy, relatable, and a bit funny. Further, she’s also using horoscope analogies. I don’t recall any sort of mysticism in her lyrics before and it totally fits with the aesthetics she’s been giving off in her fashion on her IG stories the last few weeks.

I think “Mercury in Retrograde” is the step forward musically alot of us have been hoping she would do for a while now, but I just don’t think it’s every fan’s cup of tea. Which is fine. But it’s a way she can move forward and grow artistically and explore, while still sticking to a genre that she’s clearly comfortable in.

“Pity Party” is a second contender for me. The early 90s riot grrrl vibe it’s got going on is so on point and everything about it makes me wanna put on my leather jacket and find the hippest underground circuit party in Vancouver lol. For those of you who like this, I highly recommend the band Wargasm. One of my favourites is “Post Modern Rhapsody” and I would just die if she explored this sound more (in a good way).

All in all, I’m satisfied with all three songs and really hope they signal where we are heading with AL8. Familiar Avril but with some experimentation.

IAM. I really hope it’s the direction she goes in next. Not sold on Retrograde and I don’t like Pity Party at all. She literally took everything I don’t want from an Avril song and put it in PP lol.

Definitely IAM for me. It's easily one of my favourites of this entire era. Best production, great songwriting, great vocals. There's nothing I don't like/love about this song.

I also enjoy "Pity Party" a lot; it's really grown on me. It's a close second for me in this voting.

"Retrograde" I really can't stand. I've given it a couple of chances, but every time, I just want it to end. It's quickly become not just my least favourite song of this era, but one of my least liked songs of Avril's entire career. It's (almost?) down there with HK, SOS, and "Bigger Wow". This also marks the third era in a row that contains a 1/10 or 2/10 song for me.

I'm late to the (pity?) party here with listening to all the deluxe songs, but here goes my 'review', ha ha :
I find I'm A Mess the best of the bunch, it's an endearing song, pleasant vocals, I really enjoy Avril's lower voice, it's kind of soothing.
Pity Party I find a curious little song - the thing that always startles me is how the pre-chorus sounds exactly like the first verses of Bite Me, and overall it has a very bratty, TBDT album vibe, so I'd call it quite a quality little song, even if it isn't really something I'd pick for me at the buffet - I think LS album as a whole was a bit too bratty for me.
Anyways, I'd also add the thing that plagues all the songs on the album, including the "acoustic" ones - production.
Like, I don't know, I realize over-produced, over-autotuned songs aren't exactly rare these days, but does Avril have to have the instruments and her voice compressed, distorted, terraced, in such an intense way? She's a mainstream, pop singer, but her music always tilted towards the alternative, I think it wouldn't take away anything from what she has now if the sound was to be left more 'raw' - I think she'd even benefit from it. I mean seriously, album was alright, but production is at moments atrocious to my ears.

I haven’t voted yet bc I can’t decide!
IAM is amazing and I’d love to see her do more in that direction. It’s up there with Avalanche for me, and I’d love a whole album of that style.
Pity Party is everything I love about her bratty, bitchy, in your face, I don’t give a fuck attitude of hers. It feels very much like ICDB, EBBY, TBDT vibe and I’ve always enjoyed that side of her.
MIR is growing on me and I’m here for it. It gives me almost Runaway vibes? I don’t mind the astrological theme, I think it’s kind of fun.

Retrograde is my favorite, i already got bored of Im a Mess.