Greetings From California
Capitol/EMI
Twin brothers and founding members of Good Charlotte have gone from wearing leather and collecting tattoos whilst writing fast-paced pop/punk songs to toothpick-chewing, Aussie-fried chicken-loving, children hugging acoustic pop duo. Their debut album, Greetings From California, is indicative of the siblings’ patriotic Uncle Sam style.
The album is certainly a tip of the hat to the more summery sounds of the West Coast as the guitars are turned down to a level that wouldn’t wake a baby and the tunes are vocal and groove-based. Brixton has the brothers offering layered harmonies and a hint of falsetto for a song that is so lightweight it could do with sleigh bells.
They may be judges on The Voice, but neither of The Madden Brothers are blessed with tearaway pipes of their own. What they do have is a good ear for harmony and a knack for penning a chorus that could be slotted in to prime time without causing radio producers too much discomfort. What this collection lacks though is any spark that would make any of the tracks memorable.
The Madden Brothers are better known as TV personalities than they are as musicians these days. Greetings From California is the type of unthreatening art that is delivered by talk show hosts. This debut is music to be played in cafés so as to not distract the conversation.
CHRIS HAVERCROFT
