More about: Good Charlotte

Who’d have thought that in the year 2016 bands like Panic at The Disco, Taking Back Sunday and Blink 182 would all be reforming and releasing comeback albums?

Perhaps it’s the current state of uncertainty in the world that has given us all a craving to return to our care-free youth, where a peep back to 90’s nostalgia, right now, doesn’t seem like such a bad idea at all. Adding to the list of bands making the return and after six-years of hiatus, Good Charlotte are also back, with the release of their sixth studio album, Youth Authority.

Having made the transition from emo-haired punks, wearing baggy trousers with running eye-liner upon the release of their single ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous’, which was arguably the record to catapult them to fame in 2002, the band have gone away to mature and are now making the come-back of their careers. The Madden Brothers’ own label and management company MDDN, has also allowed them the freedom to create Youth Authority completely independently.

With the band’s fairly public personal lives always in the tabloids, most notably due to the Madden Brothers marrying celebrities such as Cameron Diaz and Nicole Richie, the lives of the famously hard-working band have seemingly come up milhouse recently. The new-found family outlook has certainly impacted the latest album, with the overall feeling resonating more positively than previous GC records have done.

The most commercially led singles, ’40 Oz. Dream’ and ‘Life Changes,’ are uplifting pop-punk hits that lack any real substance, but are are sure to connect with newer (and younger) fans. Although once you’re past the hook-you-in hits at the beginning of the album, you can really hear the maturity of a band who have stood the test of time and are making a record because they truly want to – and not just so they can turn back into re-fuelled music industry cash cows.

Older fans of the band will enjoy the intricate melodies of ‘War’, which perhaps holds the heaviest and darkest momentum of the album. That being said, there’s no track on the record that could directly be related back to the band’s earlier material, as there really is a genuine focus of moving forward with a new sound and direction.

If it’s one thing the Madden Brothers really shine at, it’s a collaboration, as they get to showcase their managerial and overall song-writing talents. We’ve previously seen the band collaborate with the likes of Avenged Sevenfold’s M. Shadows and Synyster Gates for ‘The River’. This time, the album features a few surprise guests, including Sleeping with Siren’s Kellin Quinn on the pop-punk number ‘Keep Swingin’.

Track ‘Reasons to Stay’ featuring Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil is a naturally stripped back track, filled with heartfelt warmth and uplifting spirit, where Madden’s vocal resonates on a deeply meaningful level, as the entwining acoustic mid-song breaks allow for a connection with the band that we’ve been waiting for.

Whether it’s the shuffled along in time a bit nostalgia trip, or the subtle nods to growing up and re-focusing on living life to the fullest, Good Charlotte are back with an album that will give you that self-reflecting life boost, just when you probably need it the most.

More about: Good Charlotte