Good Charlotte is about 5 months shy of celebrating their 15th year anniversary.

Originally formed on April Fools’ Day in 1996, the American pop punk band that charmed their way into people’s hearts with their emo but catchy music will release their new album Cardiology on Oct 27. It has been 3 years in the making, so understandably, a lot is riding on this.

According to lead vocalist Joel Madden, in a MTV interview, Cardiology won’t be as “dance-y” as their previous album, 2007‘s Good Morning Revival. Instead, it’ll be “kind of a combination of all [their] records together,” he said.

The road to recording wasn’t all that smooth either, with multiple restarts and scrapping of old material, and even a change of producer. Citing the tone of their new album to be too dark for their liking, Good Charlotte decided midway through recording to axe producer Howard Benson who was behind both of Daughtry’s albums, among others, for Don Gilmore, the producer of their eponymous debut album and Good Morning Revival, which was charted top 10 in America and 12 other countries in the first week of its release.

Cardiology certainly isn’t a dark album, that’s for sure. Instead, it’s an interesting mix of their early 2000s albums, like 2002’s The Young and the Hopeless and 2004’s  The Chronicles of Life and Death, topped with a mild drizzle of Good Morning Revival.

Beginning with a short introduction track which comprised of an excerpt from title song “Cardiology”, “Let the Music Play” opens the album with a mildly distorted keyboard melody, waiting for a solid wall of electric guitars and drums to come crashing in. Melting away after the introduction, Madden steps in with his I’ve-a permanent-cold nasal voice, imploring you to ‘let the music play’.

A quick casual strumming heralds “1979”, an upbeat tune about the story of Roger Combs, his guitarist twin brother Benji and Joel Madden’s father, in 1979, when the whole family was still together. The Madden brother’s alcoholic father walked out on their family in 1995, when they were only 15.

Kept deliberately simple in synch with the times then, with few instruments, “1979” brought us back to an older, happier period with no troubles. Madden sounds great here, his voice sounding through clearly and cleanly, unlike some of his other tracks (“The River” from Good Morning Revival is the prime example, in which Madden sounds detached from the microphone) where his voice melds into the instrumentals.

The title track “Cardiology” is a disappointment though. Amid backing vocals of “Ooos…”, Madden tries a slower and softer style of singing. It doesn’t quite work, with distracting sound effects throughout the track, like an irritating blowing noise that plays throughout the whole track, and a (relatively) less annoying electric guitar effect that kicks in halfway into the track.

Cardiology doesn’t quite match up to the highs of their first few albums, like The Young and the Hopeless with its instant-hits but it’s an album that grows on you. On first listen, it would be easy to dismiss Good Charlotte’s latest efforts, but even the most jaded fans will find something to sing along to, with catchy tracks bursting with heartfelt lyrics and punchy choruses like “There She Goes” and “Like It’s Her Birthday”.

Artiste: Good Charlotte
Album: Cardiology
Rating: ★✭★✩✩

Language: English
Genre: Pop Punk
Record Label: Capitol Records
Release Date: 27 October 2010

Track list:

  1. Introduction to Cardiology
  2. Let the Music Play
  3. Counting the Days
  4. Silver Screen Romance
  5. Like It’s Her Birthday
  6. Last Night
  7. Sex on the Radio
  8. Alive
  9. Standing Ovation
  10. Harlow’s Song (Can’t Dream Without You)
  11. Interlude: The Fifth Chamber
  12. 1979
  13. There She Goes
  14. Right Where I Belong
  15. Cardiology