Youth Authority

Following the release of Cardiology in October 2010, Good Charlotte went on hiatus. At the time, the members felt burned out from the previous 12 years and decided to focus on their families. In addition, they also felt the music industry was controlling their image and ideas. Vocalist Joel Madden said they took their website offline, sold off all of their merchandise because they wanted to "go out with a clean slate." Benji and Joel Madden hosted The Voice in Australia, The brothers did production and song writing work for 5 Seconds of Summer, All Time Low, Three 6 Mafia, among others. They had an interest in making pop punk music again and decided to contact the other members, who were interested in writing a new album. ==Production==

The group wanted to return to the simplicity of their first three albums where they would write a song and record it instantaneously. Two days before recording sessions started, all of the members and their respectively families gathered at Benji Madden's house. The first day in the studio, they wrote "Life Changes". For three months, Long-time collaborator John Feldmann acted as producer. They group had worked with Feldmann previously for a few songs, but had not recorded an album with him, which was something they had wanted to do for a while. Joel Madden said Feldmann was a "very hardworking guy, very obsessive and he expects a lot of the people he works with." Kellin Quinn of Sleeping with Sirens appears on "Keep Swingin'", while Simon Neil of Biffy Clyro features on "Reason to Stay". ==Composition==

Musically, the album's sound has been classed as pop-punk, emo and pop rock. Bells, He mentioned "Life Changes" as encapsulating "the GC spirit", while having an arena rock chorus in the vein of Bon Jovi. and is about being misunderstood by your significant other. in which he sings the first verse. "Moving On" channels the electro-dance vibe of Good Morning Revival (2007). ==Release==

On November 3, 2015, the band announced an end to their hiatus. Two days later, "Makeshift Love" was released as a single. In addition, a lyric video was also released, directed by Christopher Sullivan. A music video for the track, featuring Mikey Way and Feldmann, was released on November 13 In the video, which was directed by Jake Stark, people use an app to send members of the band to break up with a significant other on their behalf. On March 30, 2016, their new album was announced for release in July. On April 1, the album title Youth Authority and artwork were revealed. The artwork was done in collaboration with artist Brian Montuori and features 192 different pieces of posters, flyers and magazines. Following a premier on Beats 1 on April 4, a lyric video was released for "40 oz. Dream", directed by Josh Madden. On the same day, the album's track listing was released. On May 2, "40 oz. Dream" was released as a single. On May 12, "Life Changes" was made available for streaming. On June 9, a music video for "40 oz. Dream" premiered on Hot Topic's website. The video is set in a post-apocalyptic earth and sees the group as the only survivors exploring the planet. On June 13, a lyric video was released for "Life Can't Get Much Better", which features photos of fans with the band; it was released as a single on June 20. A lyric video was released for "Life Changes" on June 29; a music video for "Life Can't Get Much Better" followed on July 12, directed by Elijah Alvarado. Youth Authority was released on July 15 through the Madden brothers' own label MDDN The brothers said the "team [that distributes the release] is just as important as the songs." Different retailers and countries included different bonus tracks: the iTunes version included "Rise"; the Best Buy edition featured "We'll Let It All Out" and "Life Is Hard"; the Japanese edition, which was released in September, featured "We'll Let It All Out", "Life Is Hard" and "Comatose". On September 7, a music video was released for "Life Changes"; On June 9, 2017, a music video was released for "Keep Swingin'", which consists of tour footage. On August 22, a music video was released for "War". The video's message is about the effect relationships can have on other people. The clip focuses on a boy who hears his parents fighting; wanting to escape, he goes outside before ending up at an arcade. and Benji Madden performing at the Nova Rock Festival ==Touring==

The band performed its first show since its reformation on November 19, 2015, at The Troubadour in West Hollywood, California. In February 2016, the group supported All Time Low on their headlining UK arena tour. In April, the band performed four small club shows and appeared at Edgefest. In October and November, the band went on a headlining US tour with support from The Story So Far, Set Your Goals, Four Year Strong, Hit the Lights and Big Jesus. In May 2017, the group went on a headlining US tour with support from Less Than Jake, Crown the Empire and Like Pacific, and performed in Mexico as part of Warped Tour Mexico. Following this, the group appeared at the Download Festival in the UK Following this, the band participated in the Warped Rewind at Sea cruise in October. In November and December, the group went on a headlining UK tour with support from Against the Current, Milk Teeth and Nothing,Nowhere. ==Reception==

Critical response Youth Authority received generally favourable reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic, number four on the Alternative Albums and Top Rock Albums charts, number five on the Digital Albums chart, and number 11 on the Top Album Sales Albums chart. By May 2018, the album had sold 30,000 copies in the US. In Australia, it sold 3883 copies in its first week, becoming one of the lowest-selling albums to reach number one in that territory. Outside of the US and Australia, the album reached number eight in Scotland, and Rock Digital Song Sales charts, and number 30 on the Hot Rock Songs chart. "Life Can't Get Much Better" charted at number nine on the Rock Digital Song Sales chart, "Life Can't Get Much Better" performed slightly better in that country, reaching number 51. It was included at number 23 on Rock Sound best releases of 2016. In 2019, Benji Madden viewed it as a "warm up record. We were having fun, it was nice to be back with the guys, and I think there were moments of conviction on it, but I don’t know if we dug as deep." That same year, Joel Madden said it didn't completely embody what was going on in their headspace at the time. Adding that two of the songs were on it solely because the band felt they had to include them. ==Track listing==

All songs written by Benji Madden, Joel Madden, and John Feldmann, except where noted. ==Personnel==

;Good Charlotte • Joel Madden – vocals, executive production • Benji Madden – guitars, vocals, executive production • Billy Martin – guitars • Paul Thomas – bass • Dean Butterworth – drums, percussion ;Additional musicians • Kellin Quinn – additional vocals on "Keep Swingin'" • Simon Neil – additional vocals on "Reason to Stay" • Zac Solomon – horns ;Production • John Feldmann – production • Zakk Cervini – engineering, editing, programming, additional production • Matt Pauling – engineering, editing, programming, additional production • Tyler Sheppard – additional editing • Courtney Ballard – additional editing, additional vocal editing • Devon Corey – additional editing • Zach Tuch – additional editing, assistant • Allie Snow – assistant • Tom Baker – mastering • Ben Grosse – mixing except for "Makeshift Love" • Eric Valentine – mixing on "Makeshift Love" ;Artwork • Brian Montuori – art direction • Aaron Farley – artwork photography • Justin Coit – portrait photography ==Charts==