It's been a while. For those who have lost track of time, it’s been six years since Good Charlotte's last outing, ‘Cardiology’, and 14 since their second album, ‘The Young and the Hopeless’, helped their brew of self-loathing and glossy pop-punk pull the genre into a realm presided over by a few chart-dominating heavyweights.
It’s not surprising, therefore, to hear the Madden twins lament the passing of time on the album’s second single, 40oz. Dream. All the punk rockers are over 40, they tell us. There are no guitars on the radio. The cops aren't needed at Gilman St. anymore.
The irony of these words will be lost on few who've followed the blossoming of a superb, fathoms-deep independent US punk scene in the last few years. The Maddens are looking at their own experience and, not finding an easy way to wrestle back their crown, seeking to make it universal. But it doesn't land. As has been noted elsewhere, Bowling For Soup did it first, and better, on 1985.
'Youth Authority' also sounds anachronistic. Its heartbeat is a set of mountainous pop-rock ballads engineered to a shine by John Feldmann, the reigning king of mountainous pop-rock ballads, and the vim and vigour of Good Charlotte’s best moments are in short supply once the final note of the opener, the enjoyable Life Changes, fades out.
Contributions from Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil and Sleeping With Sirens’ Kellin Quinn add to the feeling of rooting through a mixed bag. The former, Reason To Stay, is another of the record’s attempts at widescreen emoting and fails to break free from those confines, but the latter, Keep Swingin’, manages more pep in its three minutes than the preceding three songs combined.
‘Youth Authority’ shares similarities with Blink-182's recent return in that it doesn't break the mould Good Charlotte presented to the bands that emerged in their wake, remaining generic in its heart-on-sleeve words and skull-crushing drums. By doing so, they make it easy for detractors to file them as faces in the already standing-room-only pop-punk crowd.
Good Charlotte Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Mon August 22 2016 - LONDON O2 Forum
Wed August 24 2016 - GLASGOW O2 Academy Glasgow
Thu August 25 2016 - MANCHESTER O2 Ritz
Sat August 27 2016 - BIRMINGHAM O2 Institute
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