Good Charlotte’s new album Generation Rx has now been released and reached 20 in the midweek UK album chart. There’s been a flurry of press about it, so here’s a round-up of some of the reviews and interviews for the album.
“After more than 20 years together, pop-punk band Good Charlotte want to use their seventh album to highlight the “darker sides of being human” by tackling issues like religious divisions and the US opioid crisis.”
“While the content is heavy, Generation Rx makes the group’s emotionally charged pop-punk sound more authentic than ever — and Joel couldn’t agree more: ‘It really does feel like Good Charlotte belong to us again.'”
“Good Charlotte have been the voice of a generation since the early noughties, and twenty years into their career the band have solidified their position as one that makes a difference.”
“..equipped with a new-found boost of excitement and vitality, Good Charlotte now have in hand their seventh full-length record, Generation Rx. It’s their most anticipated offering in years, and with good reason; the band are rejuvenated, pissed off, and ready to make a statement.”
[Benji: ]”On this record, we just tapped into that real pain, that real fucking emotion where all of our lives were shaped.”
“Ultimately, Generation Rx is an album laced with hope. There’s a lot of anger and sorrow there but from it comes a plea for change.”
“At about thirty minutes, Generation RX is a short album but one that is an easy listen that feels like Good Charlotte have broken free as musicians and have created an honest, pure album, further honing their mastery at creating heartfelt anthems just like they always have.”
“From start to finish, Generation Rx reads like a Good Charlotte record should: delicate moments alongside catchy rockers, a smile alongside the clear-cut understanding for why, some days, we just have to frown.”
[Billy: ]”We wanted to make another record that would connect and that was another chapter in our careers. Lyrically, hopefully it helps people, but I want people to know that it’s serious to us – that Good Charlotte is not just a thing we’re going to do once in a while again, that we’re back to this a hundred percent, and we’re all in.”
“Facing their demons, and beating them, the band have grown into the anthemic outfit that they always had the potential to be. Generation Rx is a successful, and very fine addition to the veteran’s back-catalogue. Emotional self-help has never sounded so good!”
“Generation Rx is not what I need right now—but I know there are a lot of someones out there who will find this 9-track album to be just the melodic cure-all they’re looking for.”
Kerrang will have a review in the edition out on Wednesday 19 September
