Good Charlotte come across as the musical version of Marmite - you either love em or hate em, with the musical press showing absolutely no faith in the band nor their music, it has been left to their overflowing fan base to silence the critics. The band themselves have made public notice that they have absolutely no interest in what the media have to say and simply let the fans pass judgement on each new release, all of which have sold a cool 15 million to date. The latest release however, is the true test of the bands staying power and the first to truly divide their fans in opinion - with mixed reaction from any number of GC addicts worldwide. One scan of a search engine will find fans split straight down the middle, either in appreciation of this ‘masterpiece’, or (and I should say the majority) seeing the album as a u-turn in the wrong direction, something that in secret, will bother the Madden twins immensely. From a fans perspective, I see this as an attempt to show us another, more mature element of Good Charlotte, but the overall result is an album that, despite carrying the same strengths, adds vast weakness into the bands overall ‘vibe’. The fun loving pop-punk of ‘Lifestyles Of The Rich and Famous’ is still here in abundance, but tracks such as the downright dreadful ‘I Just Wanna Live’ just , quite frankly, isn’t Good Charlotte - and to pun the bonus track on the ‘death’ version of this release ……. Good Charlotte truly have ‘Met Their Maker’.

The early announcement that this would be a far cry from the bands first two releases laid early grounds for the element of surprise - a much unwanted surprise. What people loved about Good Charlotte was their playful nature, the fact that their music wasn’t to be taken seriously and that they weren’t a band for the serious side of life. Joel Madden has spoken openly of how this is the bands most personal record to date, conveying the emotions that he and brother Benji had been through, the troubles in their childhood and their views on the world today - all of which should of made for an interesting listen. Their songs, regardless of personal relevance, were always fun - whether it be the corny ‘Girls and Boys’, the uplifting ‘Anthem’ or the utterly superb ‘Hold On’, the band were all about telling it how it was regardless of other opinions. The image factor (tattoos, piercing etc) was simply a sideshow to fit in with the world around them, but it enhanced their reputation with their fans, seeing them as rebellious and ‘different’ - resulting in people being drawn to their likeable image and relatable lyrics. The genre as a whole is one full of, in large, moronic wannabes all trying to be the next Green Day, something Good Charlotte have never professed to - their intention was simply to be their for the people that they could relate to, and vice versa. Their first two albums showed an outlet of anger and frustration, relating to the feelings of their followers, enhancing their reputation as one of the best in modern rock - bring on ‘Chronicles’ they said……

‘Walk Away’ and ‘S.O.S’ further convinced me that this was simply more of the same and that the band had decided to stick with a winning formula after all - oops couldn’t have been more wrong. ‘I Just Wanna Live’, the second single to be taken from the album, is something of an unwanted passenger, simply not the Good Charlotte that I’d come to know and love. Whereas it cannot be classed as a ‘dance’ track, it’s a far cry from anything that band had produced previously, whilst being given negative reviews in the main. From this point forward the album becomes a mish-mash of experiment - with the dreadful ‘Ghost Of You’ and the downright wrong ‘The World Is Black’ being prime examples of the albums downfall. ‘Predictable’ offers a rest bite from the trauma that had come before, showing that the band were more concerned with attaining new followers rather than enhancing their relationship with the ones already there - whilst sacrificing their trademark style in the process. It may sound as though I’m not prepared to see the band evolve and further their sound - but after listening to this material on countless occasions, I can safely say they are not the band they were - the expanded horizons if you will, have left the band stuck between a rock and a hard place - and the question now is will they pursue with this ‘new’ sound or return to the pop-punk that they are both known and loved for ?!