To celebrate the announcement of their upcoming album the legendary pop-punks release new single Congratulations.
Earlier this week, multi-million selling and streaming rock band Simple Plan announced their highly anticipated new album Harder Than It Looks, set for release, May 6. They also shared their brand new single Congratulations.
Harder Than It Looks marks the band’s first release since 2016’s Taking One For The Team. The band explains: “We’re incredibly excited to finally share this news with our fans who have waited so patiently for this album. We poured our hearts and souls into these new songs, and we’re so proud of this record.
More than 20 years into our career, we love being in this band more than ever and still have the same passion for playing music and writing songs together that we’ve had since day one.
We made a classic, quintessential Simple Plan record that our fans will absolutely love. It was amazing to go back to our roots and unapologetically embrace what has made this band special to so many people: fun, catchy, honest and emotional songs that will make you feel less alone, put a smile on your face and give you hope.
We truly can’t wait for the world to hear these new songs and to play them live everywhere.”
Fans can look forward to hearing new music live as Simple Plan hits the road throughout the US for their Blame Canada Tour with Sum 41. The first leg kicks off on April 29 and will feature support from Set It Off. The second leg featuring Magnolia Park starts on July 29. All tour dates and ticket info at www.officialsimpleplan.com.
From their new millennium rise to MTV superstardom, Simple Plan has been an indelible part of pop culture. Through pop-punk’s modern resurgence that has introduced their iconic, multi-platinum sound to new audiences around the world, the band has never lost sight of what got them there in the first place: their fans.
Formed in Montreal in 1999, the quartet enjoys a rare sort of artist-audience dynamic that’s never dulled over time. If anything, it’s only grown, as both the band and their fans have learned that life as outsiders is anything but lonely.
The band kept their circle tight during their latest recording process. Free agents for the first time in their storied career, they enlisted longtime songwriting partners to be part of the 2019 sessions. These include We The Kings’ Travis Clark and producers Brian Howes and Jason Van Poederooyen (who worked on the band’s 2011’s album Get Your Heart On!) and Zakk Cervini (blink-182, Good Charlotte). Pierre Bouvier himself even got in on the action, receiving producer credit for the first time after years of meticulously crafting the band’s demos.
In a time when artists are more in control of their careers than ever before, the sense of freedom the quartet enjoyed while making the album let them follow their own convictions. No looming deadlines, no pressure from external forces to deliver anything other than the record they wanted to make. In doing so, they rekindled a spark they didn’t know was missing. “No one is ever going to care more about the band than we do,” drummer Chuck Comeau says proudly.
“Throughout our career, it’s taken a while to be mature enough to understand that our sound is an asset, not a liability,” says frontman Bouvier. “On this album, we said: ‘Let’s just embrace who we are and not be afraid to do what we do best.’ Making a good Simple Plan record is just as hard as making something off the beaten path.”
True to form, Harder Than It Looks is an album title that elevates the adolescent joy hard-coded into Simple Plan’s DNA since day one. At the same time it reinforces a sense of self-awareness that’s guided them through a career full of ups and downs.
“We feel so lucky to be a band with fans who love our old and new material,” Comeau adds, noting 2022 marks the 20th anniversary of their debut album No Pads, No Helmets…Just Balls. “We’re very proud of our past, but we’re even more excited about the future. We’re still ambitious, driven and curious to see what the next 20 years will bring. We truly always feel we’re 3 minutes away from the best or biggest song of our career.”
Harder Than It Looks features previous singles, The Antidote and Ruin My Life.
Pre-orders are available here.
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