Sirens, police cars and all sorts were racing around my head after noticing that Sean Paul was featured in a Simple Plan track. The best idea would be to keep these two entities apart using large, repelling magnets. The question is, with the inclusion of Sean Paul, how pop have Simple Plan become? Last time around, Simple Plan had taken a noticeable stride in the said direction after the release of their self tilted album back in 2008. A grand four years have swept past since then.

In a ‘Summer Paradise’

The track most obviously starts with the thumping of an acoustic guitar as Sean Paul reminds us of whom he and the band are. As Jason Derulo and cringey that is by saying your own name at the beginning of the track, Sean Paul and the ballad of a powerful pop-punk guitar riff was the unobvious route to take.

A song about writing names in the sand, in a so called ‘summer paradise’ will always   encourage the use of puke bags, this is no different. It struggles with the lack of originality lyrically, and suffers greatly for it. It uses concepts and imagery which have been done time and time before, and Simple Plan have executed it in the most conformist style. The song fatally plummets after the lines ”singing la-de-la-de-da,” during a flat chorus. The only notable thing that it achieves is the scrunched, unappreciative look that appeared on my face after the first play through.

On the upside though, the soundtrack to which Sean Paul and Pierre Bouvier commit their love song towards their holiday hook-ups, is as happy as a baby puppy dog. The vocals between the pair don’t clash, and compliment each other, with help of those instrumentals slick instrumentals.

Call it experimental, or call it complete garbage. In hindsight, this track is like fighting over the internet. Nobody is the real winner. It makes once hard rockers Simple Plan look like the sort of guys to bring home to meet mama and papa. It’s a song that begs to be liked, but it’ll never feel the warmth of a happy welcome. It’s a 4/10.