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Provided by the compucert Good Charlotte are a band who need no introduction. Originally formed as a pop-punk act in Waldorf, Maryland, in 1996, the band—vocalist Joel Madden and his identical twin brother guitarist Benji Madden along with guitarist Billy Martin, bassist Paul Thomas and the latest edition drummer Dean Butterworth—have sold over 10 million records to date, penned countless mainstream radio hits such as "The Anthem," "Lifestyles Of The Rich & Famous" and "Hold On” and shared the stage with everyone from Justin Timberlake to Third Eye Blind.
That said, fourteen years deep into a career full of milestones the band could not be more excited to release their fifth full-length and Capitol Records debut Cardiology almost exactly a decade after their debut disc Good Charlotte hit the streets. “When I listen to our first record it’s so innocent and I think that we really managed to recapture that feeling with this record without actually repeating what we’ve done in the past,” Joel explains. “I get the same feeling of excitement listening to this record that I did when we first started making music, which was so refreshing for us.”
However in order for the band to reach the state of mind where they could make Cardiology, first they had to take some time to step away from the band and live their lives. “Over the past few years most of us have started families and had so many new experiences so with this record we wanted to take that wall down that we may have had in the past and let our fans back in again like we did on our earlier albums,” Benji elaborates. “I love everything we’ve done, but we kind of had our defenses up on some of those albums whereas on this one we decided to write from the heart and be vulnerable again.”
In order to capture the intensely personal nature of Cardiology last January the band reentered the studio with longtime producer Don Gilmore (Linkin Park, Avril Lavigne). “The first day we went into the studio with Don it felt so right and the entire record got made in six or eight weeks because he really understood our vision and what we wanted to accomplish this time around,” Benji recalls adding that standout songs like “Silver Screen Romance” and energetic first single “Like It’s Her Birthday” got written during the recording session when the band experienced a final burst of creative energy. “It was just so exciting to hear these songs take shape and we didn’t want to stop writing.
From the upbeat pop feel of “Sex On The Radio” to slower, more sensitive tracks like “1979” and “Harlow’s Song (Can’t Dream Without You)” and synth-driven party anthems like “Like It’s Her Birthday” and “Last Night,” Cardiology is a case study in all of Good Charlotte’s various musical identities and sees them finally reconciling all of their influences into an album that proves the band are more relevant now than ever. “ One of the things I’m proudest about this band is that we don’t have two records that sound alike and I think that’s helped keep us around,” Benji responds when asked about the album’s inherent versatility. “I think there are some elements on this record that will remind people of our first album and then there are some elements that will remind them of [2007’s] Good Morning Revival, too.”
“A lot of the lyrics on this album are about being in a different place in my life,” Joel, who had his second child last September, explains. “There are some songs like “Harlow’s Song (Can’t Dream Without You)” that are directly about my kids or being in love and how being in a relationship changes the whole experience of my life, but a lot of the lyrics are more introspective.” A great example of the band’s attitude shift is ‘There She Goes,” a song that sees the band revisiting the same personal narratives that endured them to countless fans all over the world and sees them once again wearing their hearts on their tattooed sleeves. “Obviously we’re all in different places in our lives but we’re giving our fans that same honestly we always have.”
That honesty is dripping all over the songs on Cardiology and the band are thankful that they had the opportunity to have some extra time to fully realize this material. “I don’t think that a lot of these songs could have written a few years ago and time can often be the recipe,” Benji explains, citing “1979” as a personal milestone. “All of our fans who have been with us know the whole story about our dad leaving, but with ‘1979’ I wanted to show the time when my parents were together and happy,” he continues. “It’s a song that I couldn’t have written a few years ago and I think it’s all a part of growing up.”
Ultimately as much as Cardiology looks back on the band members’ experiences, it’s also a look ahead at the next decade of Good Charlotte… and they couldn’t be more excited to see what the future holds. “It’s funny because I’ve almost been in this band longer than I wasn’t in this band during my lifetime,” Benji explains. “I’ve never had a successful relationship as far as a wife or girlfriend, but I’ve had an amazingly successful relationship with my band and we’ve survived a lot of stuff that I don’t think most bands would be able to make it through because we know how to communicate and we’ve never sold each other out,” he adds.“Opportunities come along and people could bail on the band and look out for themselves, but we’ve all stuck it out and that gives me faith that I’ll be able to do that someday in my own life,” Benji continues. “Getting to the point where we could make Cardiology took fifteen years of work but there are some situations where time is the only ingredient and you can’t rush it,” he adds. “That’s what this album is all about to me and I think our fans will recognize and appreciate that, too.”
Check out the new video for “Like It’s Her Birthday”
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