![]() ![]() The watery Life Can’t Get Much Better plods along with its listless drum thuds, and War, the track the band have actually claimed is the heaviest song they’ve written, ends up about as heavy as a loaf of bread. The Outfield is probably the worst offender with its toothache-inducing synth twinkles and paper-thin guitars, but it still doesn’t manage to divert the blame from some of this album’s other cuts. Sadly, this is the case for much of the album, especially in the back half. Spread throughout Youth Authority is the featherweight sparkle of the former and the high-on-life brightness of the latter, and while on paper the two would seem like natural bedfellows, the end result is an overly saccharine, wishy-washy mush. It’s here where the two prominent musical touchstones that this album gravitates around reveal themselves – All Time Low’s Future Hearts and 5 Seconds Of Summer. And while Good Charlotte have never been the most raw band, their earlier material at least had a bit of crunch to it for most of Youth Authority, any edges are sanded down and buffed for something far too smooth and slick. A major one appears in the production, which has John Feldmann’s fingerprints all over it – clear as a bell and blemish-free, maximising each song’s pop appeal. It’s just a shame that, in this continuation of sound, Youth Authority retains many of the problems that plagued Cardiology. But unlike the experiment in chart-baiting / ego-stroking masturbation that is Fall Out Boy’s latest material, Youth Authority is a lot more in line with Good Charlotte’s typical fare. As such, it’s difficult to judge their sixth album Youth Authority away from this, similar to how Fall Out Boy’s recent material has often been viewed in conjunction with their current status. ![]() As well as both brothers currently serving as judges on The Voice Australia, the two have also found themselves in the public eye thanks to their high-profile marriages, Joel to socialite Nicole Richie, and Benji to actress Cameron Diaz. In the interim between their last album, 2010’s so-so Cardiology and now, the band have been living the same celebrity lifestyle that they initially chastised, especially the band’s dual figureheads Joel and Benji Madden. The irony of Good Charlotte’s first major hit being Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous has been discussed before, but never has it been more poignant than now. ![]()
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