Harder Than It Looks
| Harder Than It Looks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 6, 2022 | |||
| Studio | Van Howes Studios | |||
| Genre | Pop punk[1] | |||
| Length | 34:35 | |||
| Label | Self-released | |||
| Producer | Pierre Bouvier, Zakk Cervini, Brian Howes, Jason "JVP" Poederooyen | |||
| Simple Plan chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Harder Than It Looks | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Kerrang! | 4/5[2] |
Harder Than It Looks is the sixth studio album by Canadian rock band Simple Plan, released on May 6, 2022.[1] It is their first record in six years since Taking One for the Team (2016), and the first one without bassist David Desrosiers after his sexual misconduct allegations.[3]
Background and production
The band stated that the album will be a return to their pop-punk roots.[1][4] 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.[5]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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.[6]
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
- David Desrosiers – bass, backing vocals
Additional musicians
- Deryck Whibley - guest vocals (track 2)
Production
- Pierre Bouvier - producer
- Brian Howes - producer
- Zakk Cervini – producer, mixing
- Chris Lord-Alge – mixing (track 10)
- Jason "JVP" Van Poederooyen – producer, mixing (track 6), engineering
- Ted Jensen – mastering
Design
- Chapman Baehler – album photography
- Simple Plan – art direction and concept
- Fred Jérôme – art direction and concept, layout design
Charts
| Chart (2022) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[7] | 67 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[8] | 59 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[9] | 84 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[10] | 82 |
| Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[11] | 60 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[12] | 36 |
| UK Album Downloads (OCC)[13] | 32 |
| UK Independent Albums (OCC)[14] | 44 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[15] | 25 |
| US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[16] | 90 |
References
- ^ a b c Carter, Emily. "Simple Plan announce new album, Harder Than It Looks". Kerrang!. Archived from the original on May 5, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Simple Plan recaptures spirit of its youth on Harder Than It Looks". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
- ^ "Simple Plan announces 'Harder Than it Looks'". The Music Universe. March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
- ^ "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.[self-published source]
- ^ Harder Than It Looks (booklet). Simple Plan. 2022. SP220204.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 16 May 2022". The ARIA Report. No. 1680. Australian Recording Industry Association. May 16, 2022. p. 6.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Simple Plan – Harder Than It Looks" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ^ "Simple Plan Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Simple Plan – Harder Than It Looks" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
- ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums: 2022/05/11 公開". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved May 11, 2022.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Simple Plan – Harder Than It Looks". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
- ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
- ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
- ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
- ^ "Simple Plan Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
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