Cardiology will break listener’s hearts.

Good Charlotte is a group of Marylanders that got its start in 1996. The members reached their stride with the hit song “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” in 2002 but have failed to reach the same magnitude of success since.

Good Charlotte falls among the likes of many early-2000s bands such as Simple Plan that try to escape the shadow of boy bands, including the Backstreet Boys and N*SYNC, but ultimately end up a stereotype of themselves.  

Cardiology, the band’s fifth studio album, echoes this sentiment. The album lacks originality in its lyrics, style and sound.

Lead vocalist Joel Madden attributes the same whiny, obnoxious voice to every song on the album. It is most prevalent in some of the slower songs, such as “Introduction to Cardiology” and the title track. In these songs, he questions the functions and motivations of the heart and provides a commentary on its mysteries, a tactic that only works occasionally.

“Like It’s Her Birthday” was released in August to promote the album, and of all the songs on Cardiology, this is the single that could stand on its own. It has everything

Good Charlotte’s target audience (misfit teens) wants to hear: a chorus of loud, jubilant voices chanting responses to Madden’s words: “She’s so wasted/ Acting crazy/ Making a scene/ Like it’s her birthday/ Drinking champagne/ Going insane/ Falling on me/ Like it’s her birthday.”

The next track on the album, “Last Night,” almost duplicates “Like It’s Her Birthday” in its message. No one can remember what happened last night, everyone was wasted, but everyone is pretty sure they had a great time!

What has mainstream music turned into? Practically every song on pop radio stations has to do with excessive drinking, smoking and partying. While college students may have more opportunities to experience this lifestyle, naive high-school students who listen to this music on a daily basis are not necessarily being exposed to the best of influences.  

“Silver Screen Romance” and “1979” are Cardiology‘s attempts to infuse culture into the songs. The former is a characterization of 1930s film legends, and the latter is a description of all the historical pop culture events of 1979. “1979” is particularly annoying because it copies the idea of Bowling for Soup’s “1985.”

“Alive” and “Crash” reference the title, Cardiology. “Alive” is about how people feel their best when they’re with the person they love and how, despite their differences, couple bring out the best in each other (cue sentimentality). “Crash” concludes the album, and though the title implies heart failure, the song is about a guy wanting to know if a girl will let him spend the night if he knocked on her door.

Cardiology is a jumbled mess of the same pop-punk style that Good Charlotte consistently copies from Green Day and My Chemical Romance. The album has an intriguing name and curious song titles, but it falls victim to the same issues that plagued Good Charlotte’s earlier work.  

It will probably make a decent amount of money, but the hype of this album will surely disappear not long after its debut.

RATING: 1.5 out of 5 stars

diversions@umdbk.com