Good Charlotte - Motel Du Cap (Album Review)

Good Charlotte- Motel Du Cap
Released: August 8, 2025

Lineup

Joel Madden // Lead Vocals
Benji Madden // Guitar and Vocals
Paul Thomas // Bass
Billy Martin // Guitar and Keys
Dean Butterworth // Drums

Online

Facebook
Instagram

For over twenty-five years, Good Charlotte have personified the sound of pop-punk, gradually marking themselves as the godfathers of the genre. Their sound was not merely an influence to the bands that exist today, but became a signature that gravitated people beyond the musical scope into the world of tongue-in-cheek lyrics and catchy riffs. I would know - my very first published music article in 2018 was a review of Good Charlotte’s headline at the Hordern Pavilion, and it was the blog that started it all. Now, some years on, I am bearing witness to yet another release from the Maryland champs. Their eighth album, Motel Du Cap, asserts that some old dogs can learn new tricks, mastering a perfect balance of the vintage signature with new idolised sounds that are being crafted from both the band’s internal and external journeys. 

On a bright and chirpy day, we find ourselves wandering into Motel Du Cap for the check in of a lifetime. Invited to relax and get comfortable, the scene is set for a listening experience boasting individuality and an emphasis on writing your own narrative as you observe the album from beyond the lens of the creator. Not long after, you open the first door. ‘Rejects’ grabs your hands and takes you swinging around the room. This track presented itself as the lead single from the album, and notably flaunted its youthful roots to fans eagerly anticipating the album. With the same kicking rocks type verses, followed by a vibrant chorus, semblances of the first few albums come rushing back. Yet, there are still inescapable moments of the future, most prominently the recurring “they liked us better, when we were together”- a self-aware jab at the band's hiatus and tackling of other opportunities as fans eagerly awaited their return. This chorus has been stuck in my head since its release as a single, and its strikingness has not receded upon the first full album listen. 

If there is one thing Good Charlotte has become synonymous with, it is the essence of friendship within the music industry. Consistently championing the artists they find intriguing, the band has quickly become the one of the primary feeders of this wide world of music. On the other end of this spectrum, their long and prolific run as creatives reflects in relationships on and off the lyric sheet. Motel Du Cap is brimming with collaborations, with four of its thirteen tracks housing features. With the likes of Wiz Khalifa, Zeph, Luke Borchelt, and Petti Hendrix, there is an added dimension and duality that seeps from this collection. Traversing through guests that find themselves abducted from the genres of country, indie and hip-hop, respectively, there is an undeniable ability of Good Charlotte to not just adapt to shifting styles, but welcome their features in such a way that even the most jarring of inclusions fits into a seamless feat of harmonization and musical balance. There are no two parts, but a whole that is defined by a blend of artistry now connected under one clear mission- and that's the amplification of comfort within Motel Du Cap. Out of these features, ‘Deserve You’ is a clear standout, seeing Joel Madden shapeshift his vocal tonalities to that of a country singer, extending what seems to be his never ending repertoire of abilities. As a simple guitar floats in the background, this song really allows Madden and Borchelt to shine, putting forth a heartfelt anthem of sentiment and yearning. 

If you’re still craving that old pop-punk sound, ‘Vertigo’ will be the track you find the most solace within. With charged drums striking up a chorus of flurrying instrumentals, Joel quickly charges in with an insatiable vibrancy that seems to directly make its way into your veins. With the same sensibilities emulated by Petti Hendirx, the track quickly projects a confidence that makes it an absolute standout. Honing in on that same sense of spritely energy and juvenile allowance of fun, ‘Vertigo’ is one of those unique tracks that can send you back in time to where it all began. This feeling is also heavily fostered in ‘Stepper’. Oozing with a palpable spunk, it’s one of those tracks that immediately infects the way you're moving, adding a spring to your step when you're walking and a noticeable bop to your head. Dean Butterworth makes himself known, with his solid, big stepping drums proving a sturdy foundation to the track. Its anthemic chorus projects over the top and becomes an instant earworm. 

One of my personal favourite tracks from this album is ‘Mean’. The guitar is amplified to eleven as it charges down the chorus in between each verse. Filled with vigour and liveliness, the track indulges in self-pitiful scope of lyricism that you cannot help but empathize with due to the Madden’s open and honest delivery style. There are flairs within the voice that engage with the same notes from so many years back; a twang that sees the memories flood back. This decades-long connection begins to ignite and makes Good Charlotte's storytelling all the more convincing, like a friend confiding in another friend. At this point, so many of us are a part of the narrative, and ‘Mean’ is one of the biggest portrayals of that. There is a vivacity that becomes part of the spine of Good Charlotte's music- at times, more present than others, but it is undoubtedly funneling through the heart of each track that exists within this album. 

Another universe gets explored as Good Charlotte descends into ‘Bodies’. Almost sultry, the track dances through electronic elements that maintain a solid and pulsating heartbeat throughout the whole track. Its chunky verses are broken up by softer choruses that rise to new heights, then drags back down to moments that sound like how jarring flashing lights in a dark club look like. There is so much to love about this song, and it truly sounds like nothing else done on Motel Du Cap thus far. With a retro blend of 90s electronica but also the techno essence of the now, its elements transcend time in its many facets. 

The backend of Motel Du Cap sees Good Charlotte at their most vulnerable, aching through sentiments of love, longing, reflection and dedication. ‘The Dress Rehearsal’ sets the tone ambitiously, adopting the sounds of a string assortment in the background as the height of emotion takes over. There is a direct build up that tugs at you, aided as Madden’s voice strikes with more unwavering passion and shaky expression justifying the unmistakable authenticity to his words. This continues within ‘Castle In The Sand’, an anthem of retrospection and thankfulness for the moments that have led up to now. The song is jarringly beautiful, becoming a beacon of appreciating those you love, taking the small things in your life and projecting them as large as you can- because the things you value the most, don’t have to be mundane. There is a touchingness that spills from these two songs, and their succession one after another makes your throat swell up a bit, with nowhere to hide from the vulnerable storytelling at hand. 

The album concludes with the aptly titled ‘GC FOREVER’. The song traverses through the journey of 1995 to now; the struggles, the hopes, and the moments of realisation when a dream was swiftly and staggeringly becoming a tangible reality. Despite releasing albums within the past few years, Motel Du Cap seems the most connected to the band as a whole. It reflects a band who, after their many years, are still undoubtedly proud of who they are in the present space of time. There is a self-assuredness that seeps not just from years of creation, but from a band consisting of members who are now reading from the same page. This connectivity has made all the difference, and in the utterances of this track, define the current timeline of Good Charlotte - and that is one that lasts forever. 

Motel Du Cap is a heartwarming listen as a long-time Good Charlotte fan. A heightened sense of togetherness finds itself tracing through this release, embedding the body of work with a conviction and authenticity unseen to this degree within the past years of this band. In turn, there is a soul to this album- a beating heart radiating with pride of the past, and a vein of adrenaline to project themselves to the future. There is no denying Good Charlotte’s cultural impact, and they continue to take the musical world by storm fluctuating through many genres and wrangling them into seamless and sophisticated musical mutants. While it may not be the grungy punk of the 2000s some yearn for, there is something much more sophisticated on offer- a thirteen track album dripping in sincerity, storytelling, and that old Good Charlotte swagger. 

Rating: 8/10
Motel Du Cap is out August 8th via Atlantic Records. Stream here
Review by Georgia Haskins @ghaskins2002