1 	Opinion Overload 	
2 	Boom! 	
3 	Kiss Me Like Nobody's Watching 	
4 	Farewell    (Featuring – Jordan Pundik)
5 	Singing in the Rain    (Featuring – Rock City)
6 	Everything Sucks 	
7 	I Refuse 	
8 	I Don't Wanna Go to Bed    (Featuring – Nelly)
9 	Nostalgic 	
10 	Perfectly Perfect 	
11 	I Don't Wanna Be Sad 	
12 	P.S. I Hate You 	
13 	Problem Child 	
14 	I Dream About You    (Featuring – Juliet Simms)

Pierre Bouvier - vocals
David Desrosiers - bass guitar, vocals
Sébastien Lefebvre - guitar, vocals
Chuck Comeau - drums, vocals
Jess Stinco - lead guitar, vocals 
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Howard Benson - Hammond B3
Lenny Skolnik -	keyboards,  vocals

It has been argued, with varying levels of success, that Simple Plan deviated too far over the past couple of albums. Truth be told, they’ve always clung to the pop flank of pop-punk. Yet when irreverent lyrics and copious amounts of tomfoolery were replaced with love songs and seriousness, punk purists abandoned ship.

But Simple Plan knew the score. They knew that by the time their fifth studio album was released in 2016, few people would care about genre. They predicted the genre-less revolution of today’s youth – a time when fans would listen to Taylor Swift on CD, stream Blink 182 and spin Abbey Road on vinyl all in one day.

Whether consciously or not, Simple Plan have joined the genre-benders generation. Certain Taking One For The Team tracks are a definitely satiating for their punk fans. Opening tracks “Opinion Overload”, “Boom!” and “Kiss Me Like Nobody’s Watching” put you in the mood to pull out your old Greenday albums. Then comes “Farewell”, featuring the unmistakeable vocal talents of Jordan Pundik from New Found Glory. You just start to feel confident about Simple Plan’s return to punk when 10 seconds later you’re listening to reggae in the form of “Singing In The Rain”, which features chart toppers R City.

By the time you make it to “I Don’t Wanna Go To Bed”, featuring Nelly, you’ve conceded that this truly is a pop album. And really, despite what punk purists and general haters will say, it’s a damn good pop album. My head literally did not stop bopping from start to finish.

Musically there is something distinct about this album. There’s barely a minor chord to be found in any of the first eleven tracks. Formulaic pop music evangelists would say that this is a recipe for disaster. Yet Bouvier and Comeau, whilst announcing themselves as pop writers here, are in no way conformists to the insta-hit school of song writing just yet.

Furthermore, they’ve managed to create exactly what they were looking for – happiness and positivity. Ever since the announcement of this album and the release of “I Don’t Wanna Be Sad” as a single, I knew what the band were aiming for on this album. They’ve grouped the slower, more introspective tracks together at the end of the album, rather than interspersing them, and it doesn’t affect overall balance and coherence as much as you’d imagine.

What Simple Plan have done here is breathe some diversity into the genre on which they were raised. Their first two albums were pop-punk conformist and reasonably predictable. Their self-titled release of 2008, whilst still featuring extremely good song writing, was a turn for the dark side. 2011’s Get Your Heart On brought them back into the popular consciousness with a vengeance. Now, Taking One For The Team solidifies them as a pop powerhouse. And though the album runs high to songs about relationships, if you want a rocking and rolling feel-good album to kick off 2016 with, then this one is for you. ---Josh Champion, theaureview.com

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1. You Suck At Love 3:11
2. Can't Keep My Hands Off You (Feat. Rivers Cuomo) 3:20
3. Jet Lag (Feat. Natasha Bedingfield) 3:23
4. Astronaut (Feat. Jim Irvin & Julian Emery) 3:40
5. Loser Of The Year (Feat. Claude Kelly) 3:26
6. Anywhere Else But Here 3:43			play
7. Freaking Me Out (Feat. Alex Gaskarth) 3:06
8. Summer Paradise (Feat. K'naan) 3:55
9. Gone Too Soon 3:15
10. Last One Standing 3:27
11. This Song Saved My Life 3:18
12. Jet Lag (Feat. Marie-Mai) 3:23		play
13. Summer Paradise (Feat. Sean Paul) 3:56
14. Summer Paradise (Feat. Sean Paul) (French Version) 3:53

Simple Plan
    Pierre Bouvier – vocals
    Chuck Comeau – drums, group vocals
    Jeff Stinco – guitars, group vocals
    Sebastien Lefebvre – guitars, background vocals
    David Desrosiers – bass, background vocals
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    Rivers Cuomo – guest vocals on "Can't Keep My Hands Off You"
    Natasha Bedingfield – guest vocals on "Jet Lag"
    K'naan – guest vocals on "Summer Paradise"
    Alex Gaskarth – guest vocals on "Freaking Me Out"
    Marie-Mai – guest vocals on "Jet Lag" (French Version)
    Simple Plan fans – vocals on "This Song Saved My Life"

It is hard to believe that the young pop punk band from Montreal has now entered their second decade as Simple Plan. Their last album (self-titled) threw their fans for a loop with its uneven batch of songs mixing their standard sound with some techno and other experimental soundscapes. However, their fourth album Get Your Heart On! marks a strong return to form that should reignite the fanbase that fell in love with them from the get go. Released back in June, word has slowly been spreading that Simple Plan is back doing what they do best: belting out catchy pop rock tunes that sing about lost love, alienation, and the uncertainty of youth.

While the band foregoes the aloof experimentation that plagued the last album, they still brought in some A-list stars to guest on the album. Some that you might expect – Rivers Cuomo (Weezer) and Alex Gaskarth (All Time Low) – and others you wouldn’t necessarily expect, like Natasha Bedingfield and K’naan. But whoever is guesting, the song retains the distinct Simple Plan sound. The band rushes to reassure the fans that they aim to please by delivering a monster of a signature Simple Plan tune in “You Suck At Love”. This is the kind of song that made the band famous, and its peppy rhythm and sing-a-long chorus makes it an early favorite. “Jet Lag” is another arena-ready rocker featuring some infectious harmonies with Bedingfield and a huge chorus (video below). “Loser Of The Year” and “Last Man Standing” are classic teen anthems in the making.

For those of you looking for another big ballad along the lines of their hit “Perfect”, you might want to check out “Astronaut” and “Gone Too Soon”. They don’t quite rise to the heights of “Perfect”, but make a solid attempt. In the end, I am very pleased the band went back to their comfort zone – Get Your Heart On! is a fine addition to the Simple Plan catalogue. --- Bill Sullivan, rockandrollreport.com

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