CD Reviews

Written by Lyndsey Wallis

Good Charlotte/The Young and the Hopeless

I much anticipated this cd, since I really enjoyed Good Charlotte's first self-titled cd. As soon as The Young and the Hopeless hit the shelves at HMV, I had to go buy it. When I listened to the cd for the first time, I was not disappointed. There is not one song on the cd that I don't like, and that doesn't happen much with me. There is a great blend of punk/emo songs on the album and all the songs have meaningful lyrics. You have probably seen the video for the first single off this album called Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous on MuchMusic. I would most definatley recommend everyone to go out and buy this cd, no matter what your music preference. Besides having great songs, this cd is enhanced for use on the computer. Included on the enhanced cd is behind the scenes with all four members of Good Charlotte (and I must say, it's quite funny!) and the video for Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Anyone who buys this cd is getting their money's worth, because I know that at this moment, it's my favourite cd.

I give this a ***** rating.

Boxcar Racer/Self Titled

With two members of Blink 182 in this band, I was doubting the amount of meaningfulness in this album, but I was pleasently surprised. Considering Blink 182 is known for their childish actions and "I went out Saturday night" songs, it seems the frontman of Boxcar Racer,  29 year old Tom Delonge, has finally grown up musically. The songs consist of acoustic and electric guitars, lots of drums and a good bass line. The lyrics are extremely moving and full of emotion and with songs titled Letters to God and Sorrow, it's not hard to see what I'm talking about. On the album, there are vocals also done by Mark Hoppus who also is in Blink 182, and Tim Armstrong of Rancid. I was pleasently surprised with the new Boxcar Racer album and was not disappointed except for the fact that there was no computer enhancement on the cd.

I give this cd a **** rating.

Simple Plan/No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls

This band of Quebec-natives are a pride of Canada! With catchy songs like I'm Just a Kid and I'd Do Anything, it's hard not to like Simple Plan. I'm Just a Kid was featured on the soundtrack for The New Guy and other songs, such as Grow Up on the Scooby Doo soundtrack and My Christmas List on the MTV Christmas Compilation cd. Although No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls only contains twelve tracks, it's a great cd to listen to if you're feeling down. All the songs are about dealing with situations that teens have to cope with everyday like feeling like a dork, feeling alone, having bad days and feeling like your parents don't pay attention to you. The cd features Mark Hoppus of Blink 182 and Joel Madden of Good Charlotte as guest vocals. In the track with Joel singing, it basically sounds like they edited him out of the song. I guess they just wanted to use his name...The one problem I had with this cd is the length of it, it's only a little over half an hour long. I think that the band could have put some more songs on it like Grow Up and My Christmas List and a few others that aren't on  it. This cd is enhanced with the I'm Just a Kid video and some behind the scenes footage of the band. I think you all should pick up this cd!

I give this a ****.5 rating.

Check out my review of Winnipeg's Simple Plan concert in this issue!  

Soundbox's Anticipated New CD Release: Sum 41/Does This Look Infected?

This will be Sum 41's third cd release to date, and we think that it will be much better that the other two. With a video out for the first single, Still Waiting, Sum 41 will be getting many new fans. The video is funny and it attracts people to want to listen. We know people who never liked Sum 41 until they heard the new album...this is one of the reasons we believe that Does This Look Infected? will be a huge hit. The sound of this album has changed slightly from the last two... the sound is a bit harder and the lyrics have more underlying meassages. I know that as soon as that cd hits the shelves, all of us will be lined up at HMV to get it! Oh yeah, it comes out on November 26, 2002.