It’s been 5 years since the release of Avril Lavigne’s underwhelming self titled album. The confusing collection of tracks heard her heading towards a very unrelatable and experimental direction. Whilst taking some time out of the spotlight over the last couple of years she divorced Nickelback lead singer Chad Kroeger and even had a viral death conspiracy theory take over the internet (Google Avril Lavigne conspiracy, I promise it will be the best half hour of your life). But now she’s returned to the frontline with a captivating and surprising new single. ‘Head Above Water’ is a beautiful ballad that hears her confessing her struggles with Lymes disease. She describes how she thought she was dying and she she thought she was drowning but was praying to god to help her keep her head above the water. From there the song wrote itself as an honest confessional. “God, keep my head above water. Don’t let me drown. it get’s harder. I’ll meet you there at the altar. As I fall down to my knees, don’t let me drown”. The production begins really simple with swooping pianos and strings with a few synths intertwined. But towards the end of the song she adds in drums and has this epic collision of sound which perfectly unleashes all this built up tension. You can tell that this is an emotional and vulnerable release for the singer-songwriter. It is a really empowering comeback for her and is melodically similar to her ballads ‘Keep Holding On’ and ‘When You’re Gone’. It will be interesting to hear the direction she heads towards from here and hopefully we will hear her getting a little angsty and fun as well as being empowering and honest.