Punk's Not Dead! At least the pop-punk that Canada's Simple Plan have been indulging in since the turn of the millennium never really went away and is experiencing a renaissance of sorts in the 2020s. The sixth Simple Plan album "Harder Than It Looks" from 2022 is the best proof that even 20 years after their debut "No Pads, No Helmets ... Just Balls" the band still knows how to write straight fun punk numbers. Younger songs like "Ruin My Life" (featuring Sum 41 singer Deryck Whibley), "Congratulations" or "Iconic" are in no way inferior to all-time faves like "I'm Just A Kid", "Perfect", "Welcome To My Life" and "Summer Paradise" (featuring Sean Paul).
Founded in Montreal in 1999 by singer Pierre Bouvier, guitarists Jeff Stinco and Sébastian Lefebvre, bassist David Desrosiers and drummer Chuck Comeau, Simple Plan took off in 2002 with "No Pads, No Helmets ... Just Balls". At least in their home country, in the USA and in the UK. Elsewhere, the follow-up "Still Not Getting Any ..." brought the desired success. Since then, the band has delivered pop-punk albums like "Get Your Heart On!", "Take One for the Team" and "Harder Than It Looks" at regular intervals. The emphasis here is more on pop - hard metal parts, such as those used by their colleagues from Sum 41, are used less by Simple Plan. But all the more catchy melodies, as they can be found on tracks like "Addicted", "I'd Do Anything" or "Jet Lag" (feat. Natasha Bedingfield).
Simple Plan combine fun punk with social commitment
Even if the fun is in the foreground for a fun punk band like Simple Plan, serious topics also find their way into the work of the Canadians. In 2008, for example, they played at the Live 8 concert in Barrie, Ontario. The worldwide event was themed "Make Poverty History" and aimed to get the countries attending the G-8 summit to cancel African countries' debts. In 2022, they coupled out the "Harder Than It Looks" single "Wake Me Up (When This Nightmare Is Over)," including a video shot by a Ukrainian director and featuring Ukrainian performers, and donated all the proceeds it generated. As it is the case with many punk rock bands, music and social commitment go hand in hand with Simple Plan.
When you see Simple Plan live, you can see at a closer look that there are no longer the guys from back then - but you can not hear it. Because Pierre Bouvier and his men (bassist David Desrosier left the band in 2020) celebrate their timeless sound with the same passion and energy as ever. And hopefully it will stay that way for many more years.
