originally published: 06/09/2022

(ASBURY PARK, NJ) -- The wait is over for Harder Than It Looks, the latest album from multi-million selling and streaming rock band Simple Plan. Featuring recent singles, “Wake Me Up (When This Nightmare’s Over),” “The Antidote,” “Ruin My Life,” and “Congratulations,” Harder Than It Looks has garnered millions of streams across platforms and captured the attention of Billboard, SPIN, Teen Vogue, Audacy, and more. The band is touring in support of Sum 41 and will play three shows in the area: August 25 at The Rooftop @ Pier 17 in New York, and August 26-27 at the Stone Pony Summer Stage in Asbury Park. All three local shows include support from Set It Off.

The band shares: “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 and 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.”

In light of the recent crisis in Ukraine, Simple Plan has been offering support to the people of Ukraine with their new single “Wake Me Up (When This Nightmare’s Over)”. The new music video was directed by Ukrainian filmmaker Jensen Noen and was filmed with a Ukrainian cast and crew. VFX and post-production work were also performed by Ukrainian artists. All money generated by Youtube views will go directly to Ukrainian relief efforts, through the UNICEF Ukraine Emergency Appeal. The group is also pledging to donate a portion of the proceeds from tickets sold throughout the current tour through The Simple Plan Foundation.

Fans can look forward to hearing new music live as Simple Plan hits the road for the Blame Canada Tour with Sum 41.

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From their new millennium rise to MTV superstardom through pop-punk’s modern resurgence that has introduced their iconic, multi-platinum sound to new audiences around the world, Simple Plan have been an indelible part of pop culture for more than two decades because they’ve never lost sight of what got them there in the first place: their fans.

The quartet, formed in Montreal in 1999, enjoy the 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.

Free agents for the first time in their storied career, the band kept their circle tight during the recording process, enlisting longtime songwriting partners like 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) to be part of the 2019 sessions. 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 (“No one is ever going to care more about the band than we do,” Comeau says proudly), 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.

“Throughout our career, it’s taken a while to be mature enough to understand that our sound is an asset, not a liability,” Bouvier says. “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.”

Thus, Harder Than It Looks, an album title that, true to form, elevates the adolescent joy hard-coded into Simple Plan’s DNA since day one while at the same time reinforcing 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 says, noting 2022 marks the 20-year 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.”