Believe me, I am not a big fan of the electronic blips and blats that are littered throughout Simple Plan's third full length album. And I also might add that there are no less than 4 ballads on the album (one of which is a transparent re-write of Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and the other sounds way too much like the Backstreet Boys' "More Than That"). However, there IS a spectacular ballad on the disc, the piano-laden "I Can Wait Forever." Simple Plan is always at its best, though, when it attacks a straightforward rocker, such as "Time To Say Goodbye" and the hook-laden "Take My Hand." The boys don't always hit the mark, but they deserve props for not putting out the same album three times in a row....or like so many bands do, soften out completely (like Relient K). There is a good bit of guitar rock here, and far more hooks than other bands in this genre crank out every few years. I give it four stars because at times the sound is intriguing, and other times it is annoying (like on the disasterously embarrasing track "Generation'), and although the band goes to great lengths to sound different or unique, in some form or another, you have heard all of these songs before.

Here's a run-through of a few selected tracks:

When I'm Gone - First single off the album, big hook & chorus, but kind of slow-paced.
Take My Hand - The beat sounds exactly like The Bravery's "Honest Mistake" but the hook is very catchy.
Generation - Wretched synth intro, worse than Europe's "Final Countdown." This track is embarrassing.
Time To Say Goodbye - Their trademark pop-punk sound.
I Can Wait Forever - No, this is not a cover of the song by Air Supply. This is actually a great track and the best the band has ever done. Hope you enjoy.

Simple Plan's first album was 100% pop punk, with songs that portrayed stories about how miserable their lives were as teenagers, such as "I'm Just a Kid" and "The Worst Day Ever." These songs were solid pop punk songs and were enjoyable to listen to. Simple Plan's second album showed that the band grew up from their first album with more mature lyrics. However, many of the song were still pessimistic like "Welcome to My Life" and "Jump." I liked their first two albums and the new album "Simple Plan" is no exception. Of course, the genre of music on this new album has changed. Most of the songs on the first two albums were pop punk or punk rock, as well as just rock. This album mixes the elements of pop, rock, alternative, punk,hip hop and even electronica into one unique package. The songs on this album also show maturity from Simple Plan. Below is a list of ratings for each song on the album:

1)WHEN I'M GONE- The first single off the album, this song mixes electronic elements with their classic punk rock genre. Its a good starting single- 9/10

2)TAKE MY HAND- This song starts off sounding like a song from their old albums (punk rock) but when it enters the second verse, electronic elements are added for effects. I like this song, but its not my favorite on the album- 8/10.

3)THE END- This is a critical turning point song for Simple Plan. The first part of the song sounds like the beginning of a electronica/dance track. But once the song gets into the chorus, it switches to pop punk. Its one of the better songs on the album- 9/10.

4)YOUR LOVE IS A LIE- This song sounds like a replica of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" from Green Day. Its pure punk rock with a little tweaking from producers; solid song- 8/10.

5)SAVE YOU- This is one of the best songs on the album and shows the maturity that Simple Plan has went through. Nice instrumentation and vocals- 10/10.

6)GENERATION- This song is not one of the better songs on the album. It starts out with a weird horn that doesn't sound like Simple Plan at all. At least when it reaches the chorus, it switches to a punk rock song- 6/10.

7)TIME TO SAY GOODBYE- This is one song that comes directly from the Still Not Getting Any era- totally pop punk/punk rock. I like it because it shows that Simple Plan could still make a solid punk rock song- 9/10.

8)I CAN WAIT FOREVER- Something totally different from Simple Plan, this song is actually one of the best songs on the album. Nice piano and instrumentation as well as vocals from Pierre and the others. Sounds like a wonderful pop ballad- 10/10.

9)HOLDING ON- This song is not bad, but it sounds too generic. Also, the verses sound like a Linkin Park song because one of the members (I heard it was Chuck Comeau) speaks like Mike Shinoda. Not a bad song, but not my favorite- 7/10.

10)NO LOVE- The very beginning sounds like "It's True" from the Backstreet Boy's Black and Blue album. Right after that, it sounds like the beginning of "Perfect" from Simple Plan's first album. And then the song turns into a solid pop/rock ballad. Different, but a great sounding song-9/10

11)WHAT IF- A very long song (5:54) but unique in its production, vocal performances, and instrumentation. A nice solid punk rock song- 9/10.

CONCLUSION- Simple Plan makes a solid album which I think most loyal Simple Plan fans will find refreshing and more mature. I like their new direction and I hope others will appreciate it too. I give this album a 4.3/5.

I probably should have given this one a 3. As a fan of the group and owner of the first 2 cds I didn't care that much for this album. For fans of the first 2 cds this will be a bit of a change. A lot of synthesizers and techno sounds. To me it sounds very overproduced for what is supposed to be a pop punk band. It is almost as if they are trying to sound like Fall Out Boy. I guess that would not be bad since Fall Out Boy sells a ton of records. The album is full of catchy hooks that you come to expect from the group and I will certainly give it a few more listens before I make a final judgment. If you are a fan then you are going to buy this, but just don't expect to hear the exact same style as the first 2 albums.

Evidently the title "Simple Plan" refers to a theory that if you rip off another band's hits, you will sell more records. I really don't know where to start with this one. This band rips off every band from U2 to Green Day to The Killers, and manages to sound overproduced with a total lack of energy, with the exception of ONE pop-punk track, "Time To Say Goodbye." It was said that during the three-plus years that passed between albums, that the group's singer/songriter Ryan Bouvier had writer's block. This becomes all the more apparent because Britney Spears' songwriting team was brought in to write several songs, making Simple Plan sound like a boy band. Even when they try to rock out, the production is so overdone that the guitars seem distorted and out of place. And there are WAY too many piano-ballads. I think any trace of the faux-punk label they were slapped with after their first two albums, which were decent efforts packed with pop-punk hooks, can permanently be removed now. Simple Plan will spend the rest of their lives wondering if it was the three-plus year layoff between albums or the change of sound/style on this new one that killed their career. And the answer is neither. It is the lack of originality, energy, and songcraft that will do them in. Lets face it, when Hilary Duff rocks harder than you, your band is not "punk." And in the three and a half years this band was away, the scene changed, but their fan base remained intact and they should have stayed a little closer to home on this release rather than go running off into what the band calls "unchartered musical territory." Perhaps "UnCHARTED" musical territory is more like it. This one is headed to a bargain bin near you, right next to all those old LFO albums.

If you liked simple plan's last two records, prepare to be disappointed. There are only two songs here that sound anything like what the band has done in the past, and one of them is a JP bonus track. So really, there's only one good song on the whole 12 track effort! Pop-punk is supposed to be fun, and simple plan used to do it as well if not better than everyone else, but there's nothing fun about waiting three plus years for such a terrible record.