Cardiology

Ten years on from their debut, Good Charlotte jumped from Epic to Capitol, but more importantly they decided to largely abandon the dance-punk nonsense of 2007’s Good Morning Revival for a time-honored back-to-basics move. They’ve returned to the bouncy punk-pop of their earliest years, they’re trying hard not to be blinded by the glittery lights of Hollywood, they’re writing from the heart — hence the name Cardiology. Old habits do die hard, of course, and so do new ones: it doesn’t take long before the brothers Madden are writing fantasies of how “you’re my Bette Davis/I’m your Cary Grant,” and by the end of the record, they’ve had an electronic relapse, dabbling with chillouts and electronic rhythms. Ultimately, these are minor backslides in an album that revives the hook-happy punky pogo of Good Charlotte’s first albums while adding the new wrinkles, namely a willingness to indulge in pure power ballads and AAA pop, the latter in the form of the rose-tinted “1979,” an ode to the year of Madden’s birth. Cardiology by and large is a success, producing music that resonates louder and longer than Good Morning Revival. – Stephen Thomas Erlewine