Good Charlotte has always aimed to be a rock band able to take over the pop airwaves, and that mentality remains true with their comeback release Youth Authority. While retaining their poppy, tongue-in-cheek demeanor, the band now shows a nice complexity and maturity with the use of strings in the instrumentals. Quite a few of the songs deal with growing up, and while they can easily fit in among the work of younger bands, they’re lyrically more mature. The album ably demonstrates how a band that has influenced the current state of pop-punk can harness that same sound to create something new and yet keep it comfortably familiar.
Score: 8 out of 10
Good Charlotte
Youth Authority
MDDN
Producer: John Feldmann
