Good Charlotte

The Young and the Hopeless (2002)

ChaosXing

Just when pop punk seems to have left it's former glory days, Good Charlotte comes out with their sophomore album, The Young and the Hopeless. Their hair might be a little more gravity defying, they might have more piercings, and they might have lost their old drummer, but they do show a little more insight with their lyrics.

Highlights on The Young and the Hopeless include "The Anthem", which deals with being institutionalized in high school (almost a continuation of "Little Things"), "My Bloody Valentine", a twisted love song about a guy who murders the his true love's boyfriend, "Movin' On", which sounds more like it belongs on their self-titled album, and the title track "The Young and the Hopeless". An honorable mention is "The Day That I Die", which sounds like a country ballad at first, but then it moves on into imitating Social Distortion's style.

Good Charlotte tries enough new ideas to keep things interesting, while still remaining true to the sound of their first album without getting boring and repetitive. Fans will still remain fans (hopefully) and the people who hate them will, well, still hate them. I don't expect punk elitists to change anytime soon and realize that this is a good album.