Avril Lavigne has shared a new take on her recent single ‘Bite Me’, flipping it from a thrashy pop-punk belter into a tender acoustic ballad.
The track arrived last Saturday (December 18) alongside a video directed by Minnesota rapper Mod Sun (who also worked on Lavigne’s forthcoming seventh album). Matching its stylistic twist on the original song, the video paints Lavigne in more of a reflective light than the first cut did.
After she breaks into a dentists’ office and plies out her ex’s teeth while he’s under anaesthesia – subsequently making a necklace out of them – she sits in the hallway (and on her unconscious ex’s lap) and sings along to the track with an emotive candour.
Check out the acoustic version of ‘Bite Me’ below, then compare it to the original mix:
In a Twitter thread shared with the clip, Lavigne noted that it was helmed by much of the same team she worked with on her forthcoming album.
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“This video was a special one to make because I got to make it with some of the same people who helped me create my new record, from start to finish,” she said. “They helped me capture my vision for the whole record, as well as this stripped back version and I couldn’t have done it without their help.”
Massive thank you to John Feldman and his wife Amy for playing dentist and nurse. And of course, my love Mod and his partner @CharlieZwick for making this video. Song produced by @travisbarker @JohnFeldy @MODSUN ❤️💀🤘🏻
— Avril Lavigne (@AvrilLavigne) December 17, 2021
Lavigne is yet to formally announce her new album, though we know ‘Bite Me’ – which she recently performed on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon alongside collaborator Travis Barker – will serve as its lead single. The record is due out “at the top” of 2022 via Barker’s label DTA Records, to which she signed last month.
She spoke about her vision for the record last week, saying it’s “a love letter to women” inspired by Green Day. In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, she teased: “It’s fast. It’s fun. It’s just pure rock & roll from front to back.
“There’s a lot of reflecting upon different relationships that I have gone through and where I’m at, and even though there’s songs about past love experiences that didn’t work out, I’m in such a good place in my life that it’s still just fun and feisty and light. I’m kind of poking fun at myself that I’ve gone through a lot in love.”
She went on to say that she wants “people to feel empowered” by the record, saying: “My message is know who you are and trust who you are. A lot of these songs are about having the strength to walk away if someone doesn’t see that. I wanted to make sure I wrote music that people could relate to. It’s about valuing yourself and knowing you’re enough. It’s really a love letter to women.”
Lavigne also joined forces with Barker on Williow’s recent single ‘Grow’ (which appeared on her fourth album, ‘Lately I Feel Everything’). In an interview with NME, Willow called Lavigne “pop-punk royalty”, and said that “the proficiency and efficiency that [Lavigne and Barker] both have with their art and the execution of their vision is extremely inspiring”.
In February, it was announced that Lavigne had finished recording her album, which will apparently feature a collaboration with Machine Gun Kelly. Lavigne has also shared plans to turn her iconic track ‘Sk8r Boi’ into a full-length movie.