Anyway, this is more or less straight-forward pop-punk, with occasional attempts at rapping for no reason. Every song is either about relationships, being unpopular, or your parents sucking. Since twin brothers Joel and Benji Madden (vocalist and guitarist respectively) grew up poor and without a father, their songs come off slightly less whiny than the typical "rebellious suburban brat" pop-punk band. The fact that Joel has a pretty good singing voice - melodic without being high-pitched or whiny - helps this band stand out from the thousands of pop-punk bands whose singers sound like pretty boys or women.
The songs are really quite simple, especially the guitar parts, so it really surprised me when I opened the CD booklet and discovered they have 2 guitarists. The lyrics are nothing special, but at least they are trying to branch out beyond every song being about girls. "Waldorf Worldwide," "East Coast Anthem," "I Heard You," and "Walk By" are all good pop-punk songs, plus "The Little Things" was a good choice for a single. Good Charlotte is more enjoyable if you accept it as catchy pop-punk; don't expect something mind-blowingly original.
Either way, it worked, as this was the CD that made them MTV icons. You've probably heard "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous," "The Anthem," "The Young and Hopeless," "Girls and Boys," or "Hold On" endlessly. But has their music changed to better fit their hard look? No. The lyrics have gotten darker, with songs about alcoholism, suicide, close friends dying, killing your ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend, and yet another look at Benji and Joel's troubled childhood, but the music is still melodic pop-punk. They've gotten much better at writing songs and playing their instruments, but their music still has a simplistic quality to it that sounds like they only have one guitarist.
I admire their efforts at trying to move beyond writing every song about girls, and am eternally grateful for getting rid of their attempts at rap. However, they've just gone from one cliche pop-punk stereotype to another - trying to be rebels. Nearly every song is about how hard their life is and how different they are from everyone else. Hell, "The Young and the Hopeless" even has a verse about how they aren't posers. This CD is a guilty pleasure because I honestly think they've improved over their self-titled, even if they've become commercial whores. Seriously, "The Story of My Old Man," "The Day That I Die," and "Moving On" are great pop-punk songs. But their downfall is trying too hard to be "punk." They just need to focus on their music instead of their image.