There is no more waiting because Simple Plan is back yet again, and they’re ready to drop the hottest rock album of the year.
After six years since the release of “Taking One For The Team,” Simple Plan—composed of Pierre Bouvier, Chuck Comeau, Sébastien Lefebvre, and Jeff Stinco—announced that they will be returning to the music scene with their sixth studio album, “Harder Than It Looks,” which is due to release on May 6.
The band’s new album will include their already-released tracks “Wake Me Up (When This Nightmare’s Over),” “Ruin My Life” (featuring Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley), “The Antidote,” and “Congratulations.”
In an exclusive interview with POP!, Simple Plan’s guitarist Lefebvre revealed that “Harder Than It Looks” has been “sitting on for about two years now.” However, the plan and timeline to release it proved to be quite a challenge for them due to the global pandemic.
“Well, we basically recorded and mixed most of the new album before the world shut down,” he recalled. “The main difficulty for us was coming [up] with the right plan and timeline to release it. It was no easy task, but the songs are finally coming out, and the album will be released in less than a month now.”
Lefebvre then described “Harder Than It Looks” as a “quintessential” Simple Plan record, as it shows the “raw essence” of the band. “What I take away from this album is the raw essence of Simple Plan,” he said. “The inspirations of life and music that were driving us to start this band are very present in the whole album. It’s a quintessential [Simple Plan] album.”
He added that the album’s sound is no different from their previous ones as they incorporate their signature of empowering fans with songs that tackle life and send “a message of hope.” Lefebvre said: “We do sing about hard times, with a light at the end of the tunnel. The general meaning of honesty and ‘you are not alone’ has become somewhat of a Simple Plan signature through the years—it’s part of our sound.”
In the band’s new record, Simple Plan collaborated with Whibley for the track “Run My Life”, which is one of Lefebvre’s personal favorite songs (others include “The Antidote” and “Congratulations”).
When asked about their experience collaborating with Sum 41’s frontman, Lefebvre said that they felt it was about time they worked together, given that they’ve been in the same music scene for more than 20 years.
“We reached out to Whibley when the song was finished. We thought he would be a great fit for it, and we were already talking about touring together,” he recalled. “We all felt it was about time we did something together having had parallel careers for over 20 years in the scene.”
Simple Plan and Sum 41 are also set to hit the road and make stops across the United States for “The Blame Canada Tour,” where both bands will headline it. “Sum41 is an amazing band. I’m looking forward to watching them play every night,” Lefebvre shared.
Speaking of the tour, Lefebvre shared that being able to talk to people on tour—apart from getting a sense of normalcy—is among the many things he’s looking forward to doing again now that the COVID-19 restrictions are easing up. “Being able to talk to people on tour, go have coffee, and not be afraid of hanging out with friends. But mostly, it’s seeing my parents. They miss their granddaughter very much.”
Lefebvre also revealed how the pandemic has changed his and the band’s view on music, emphasizing how it became “more important during this time.” He added: “We all realized how much we missed connecting with our fans live once it was taken away.”
It’s safe to say that fans truly miss the band because Lefebvre recalled the great reactions of the fans ever since announcing “Harder Than It Looks,” which made them eager to release the album. The band’s guitarist said: “It does feel good to be back and to have such a great reaction from the fans […] I believe we were as eager to release it as the fans were to receive it.”
With the band marking its 20th anniversary this year, Lefebvre looked back on how the band has changed through the years. “I do think we got better at writing, recording, and playing together. That’s something I’ve noticed.”
In terms of the evolution of their sound, Lefebvre said: “It’s hard to see evolution when you are so close to it. But as much as the new songs remind me of old [Simple Plan], they could not have been on any of those albums.”
Pre-save Simple Plan’s sixth studio album, “Harder Than It Looks,” here, and check out their fourth single, “Wake Me Up (When This Nightmare’s Over),” below.
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