Review Summary: "When the fire starts fading, you've just got to recreate it.”
During the time between 2010’s “Cardiology” and 2016’s “Youth Authority,” while Good Charlotte was taking a break, Joel and Benji created their own side project "The Madden Brothers." Their debut album, "Greetings From California," came out in 2014 and was refreshingly good. Especially taking into consideration that “Cardiology” was the weakest album that had been released by “Good Charlotte.” "Greetings From California” is thankfully more on the level of “The Young and the Hopeless” and “The Chronicles of Life and Death” as far as musicianship and overall album quality goes.
Musically, the album is more acoustically based, although you do get some electric guitar here and there. Joel and Benji do an excellent job of singing vocal harmonies together and doing backing vocals throughout the album, with the harmonies often being so subtle that you wouldn't necessarily notice them without paying close attention. There are some good bass melodies and lots of great guitar melodies, along with lots of drums, keys, and synthesizers. "Brother" also features two guitar/harmonica solo sections, which are very well done, and “Empty Spirits” contains a nice violin solo. "Good Gracious Abbey” has a bit of a jazz feel to it in the verses, “U R” has kind of a Latin feel to it, and "Jealousy" is the most danceable song, with a very strong emphasis on the keyboards. Overall, the musicianship is consistently competent and there's more than enough variety to keep things interesting.
Lyrically, most of the songs are about relationships. “Dear Jane” is about trying to work up the courage to tell someone that it's break-up time, while “Brixton” is pleading with someone not to cut the cord on a relationship. “Out of My Mind” is a celebration of love, marriage, and starting a family; and “U R” is about someone who's married with kids apologizing for not being as good a partner and father as he could have been. “Jealousy” finds someone annoyed at a love interest’s friends, who are trying to keep a relationship from starting. “Bad” is about knowing someone isn't good for you but still enjoying the relationship, “Love Pretenders” finds the singer questioning whether it's worth it to put your heart out there at all, and “Suddenly” is about moving on from past relationships and finding joy in starting new ones.
Five out of the thirteen songs (excluding the two intro songs) stray from the topic of male/female relationships. We Are Done” seems to be about rising above the status quo, although the lyrics are vague enough that it's not too clear. “Good Gracious Abbey” is a fun song about running into a women named Abbey who used to go to the shows, wear emo eyelashes, ext., but has now gotten a degree and doesn't even care for rock n’ roll anymore. By the end of the conversation with Abby, she "walks off laughing, just like she used to" and so we get a happy ending. “California Rain” tells the story about how the brothers left everything to pursue their dreams in California, and were obviously met with much success because of how popular “Good Charlotte” became. Even if the odds seem to be against you, you can still “believe in California rain.” “Empty Spirits” is about sitting in a bar and mournfully contemplating your frustrations when something is bringing you down. “Brother” is perhaps the most lyrically interesting song because it goes back to the subject of their father, which was a topic that “Good Charlotte” had addressed in several of their past songs. Any “Good Charlotte” junkie knows the story about how Dad left them for dead and really crushed them by doing so. “Brother” is about one of them meeting someone and finding out that it’s his father. They have a very emotional reunion, during which the father apologizes and admits how lost and broken he is. The request that he has for his son is that he "say a prayer for me now, won't you brother." It's a very touching song, and the harmonica/guitar solo really helps convey all of the heavy emotions that is contains. I'm not sure whether "Brother" tells a story that actually happened or is just basically musing about what might happen, but either way it's a pretty mature and thoughtful song. Also, being five minutes long, “Brother” is the lengthiest song on “Greetings to California” and manages to do so without being boring or getting too drawn out. And, as with many of the songs, the vocal harmonizing by Joel and Benji is really well done and adds a lot to the song as a whole.
One possible criticism of the album is that it is more acoustic/pop driven, which could turn away some of the punk rock fans of “Good Charlotte.” Besides that though, some of the lyrics are a bit open to criticism. “California Rain” is pretty cheesy and “Jealousy” is a bit weak at times. “Bad” has some cheesy lines too, and “Suddenly” could be accused of being a bit cliché with lines like "hearts don't break alone, I've seen it on TV.” Some people might not mind any of the lyrics, but it seems to me like at times the lyrics are a little weak. Most of the lyrics are pretty solid though, and I'd say that some of the stronger songs lyrically would include “Brother,” “Out of My Mind,” “Dear Jane,” and “Empty Spirits.”
Overall, “Greetings From California” is a pretty solid album by "The Madden Brothers," especially because it came after the disappointing “Cardiology” album by “Good Charlotte.” It features mostly enjoyable lyrics, very good musicianship, and a lot of solid vocal harmonies between the brothers. It works very well as a stand-alone album for Joel and Benji, and would also be something that they could come back to with confidence if they ever want to record a second album. As far as Joel and Benji Madden go, “Greetings From California” certainly found them at their best, and is generally comparable to the better music that “Good Charlotte” has released over the years.
Recommended Tracks:
Brother
Out of My Mind
Dear Jane
Empty Spirits
