Unglued Reviews

This is not a particularly good album. I say that not because I still somehow resent Good Charlotte’s shift from their self-proclaimed punk beginnings to mainstream dance-rock (after all, my favourite GC song is the unashamedly commercial I Just Wanna Live, from their ambitious last album The Chronicles Of Life And Death). I say it because by all rights Good Morning Revival should have been an album of instantly catchy pop, and on first listen only the repetitive chorus of All Black was at all memorable.

Still, something kept me coming back, and I’ve grown to like the pacey rocker that is The River (a collaboration with members of Avenged Sevenfold), the jaunty horn section on Broken Hearts Parade, and even the angular, initially alienating electro sounds of the completely uncharacteristic single Keep Your Hands Off My Girl. Lowering the bar a bit further, even Break Apart Her Heart and the shimmery Dance Floor Anthem have a certain appeal – they might be mindless pap, but at least you can dance to them.

But no amount of repeated listens could make me come around to weak cuts like the dire Beautiful Place, Coldplay-lite piano-heavy Where Would We Be Now, or the indulgent introductory title track. And is there actually anyone who can still take vocalist Joel Madden seriously when he attacks “plastic people” on Misery, following he and guitarist brother Benji’s enthusiastic embracement of the celebrity lifestyle?

These shortcomings make Good Morning Revival Good Charlotte’s weakest album yet and pose serious questions about the group’s continued ability to produce entertaining records.

Owen Heitmann