Good Charlotte: Motel Du Cap

I’ve caught plenty of flack over the years for liking Good Charlotte. I don't care. They write fun, energetic songs, and Motel Du Cap is easily their most mature album to date. It does not quite nail that youth-to-adult reckoning the way bands like The Menzingers do, but it is a catchy attempt.

The standouts hit a nice balance between restraint and payoff. "Rejects" slowly builds into a full-on sing-along-chorus and feels tailor-made for live shows. “I Don’t Work Here Anymore,” “Deserve You,” and “Pink Guitar” lean into slower tempos and emotional clarity, recalling the softer side of bands like MEST or even Third Eye Blind from a few decades back. The album only cranks things up a handful of times, with tracks like “Mean” providing just enough bite to keep it from drifting too far into adult contemporary territory.

There are a few low points. “Stepper” leans hard into autotune and ends up being almost too catchy for its own good. “Life Is Great” flirts with outright cheese and does not fully escape it. Still, neither track sinks the overall experience.

The album does not break much new ground, but the semi-concept approach built around the wedding venue that brought the band back together is genuinely charming. The amount of est appearances are admirable, and the openness of the lyrics comes across as honest rather than performative.

Good Charlotte are still kind of cringey, still a little try-hard, still pretending to be rock stars, but that has always been part of the appeal. Just enjoy it.