Good Charlotte - "Life Changes" (Song Review)

When I reviewed "Makeshift Love" last year I was overall impressed and surprised by how much I enjoyed the song. If you'd like some of my overall thoughts on the song and how I feel about the band in general check out that review: HERE. "Life Changes" is the third song released from Good Charlotte's "comeback album" (which I'm hopeful is a true return to form of their glory days). It's much closer in sound to the more upbeat pop/punk style of "Makeshift Love" and much less in the poppy, cheesy direction of "40oz Dream". While "40oz Dream" has those GC characteristics that have been present on pretty much all of their albums, it teeters on just being okay and kind of indulging in a lot of elements that cause GC to be less appealing to me, as a listener. It also had me worried that the album was going to be a big swing and another miss, for me as a listener, from the band who haven't really wowed me in a long time.

"Life Changes" brings me back around to the other side and encourages me once again that the new album, Youth Authority, really could pay off for listeners. It's fast, upbeat, and has some pretty nice sounding guitar riffs. Benji Madden wrote the lyrics and the music for the song. While the lyrics aren't quite as good as "Makeshift Love" they are much better than "40oz Dream". Musically I think it's just as good as "Makeshift Love". It almost sounds like GC's more adult, reflective companion song to their now classic song, "The Anthem". With Feldmann at the producer's helm this band seems to be heading in a direction with Youth Authority that is starting to really seem like it could quite possibly be a nice return to form. "40oz Dream" might give me some pause, but with it at least being okay and the other two songs being pretty good, I'm inclined, at this point, to believe Youth Authority could be the band's best album since 2002's The Young And The Hopeless.