Within a year of releasing Good Morning Revival, Benji and Joel Madden had begun working on new material in early 2008.

Having completed the majority of the recording, Madden felt uncomfortable and realized the band was working with the wrong person after Benson removed two crucial verses from a track.

After announcing it had signed to Capitol Records in July, the band toured Europe supporting Pink.

A North-American headlining tour began in March and was promoted with a music video for "Late Night".

Cardiology received a generally mixed reception from critics, garnering comments about the group's return-to-roots approach.

It charted within the top 30 in New Zealand, Switzerland and Austria, and had minor success in Canada, Germany, the UK and France.

[2] In August that year, it was revealed Benji and Joel Madden were working on new material and were in discussion about their musical direction.

[4] In March 2009, the group started pre-production on the new album, which Madden said was sounding "like a straight forward rock record.

Upon their return, they listened to a few rough mixes,[7] which Benji Madden said sounded like all of the albums Benson had produced in the past and that he preferred the demo versions.

[22] "Introduction to Cardiology" is an a cappella track in the vein of the Beach Boys[23] and consists solely of a line from the title-track.

Benji Madden said "Let the Music Play" is similar to "Hold On" from The Young and the Hopeless, which was inspired by comments on a blog post on the group's website in which they said they would re-record the album.

[24] Madden said "Silver Screen Romance" is "totally the Good Charlotte return to pop-punk";[25] it features a distorted vocal track in the middle section.

[24] The dance-rock track[23] "Like It's Her Birthday" is a mix of the group's self-titled and Good Morning Revival albums.

[6] The track reminds Madden of the music of the Cars and Cheap Trick, and is about "all the girls out there who make boys want to start bands and go on tour".

Benji Madden learned how to play guitar by listening to Oasis; the track is "straight out of the Noel Gallagher handbook".

[34] Cardiology was made available for streaming on October 26, 2010, on the group's Myspace profile,[35] before being released on November 2 in the U.S. through Capitol Records.

[39] In March that year, Good Charlotte toured North America with This Century and Forever the Sickest Kids.

[40] A music video was released for "Last Night" on March 20; it was made in collaboration with Funny or Die[41] and features a recreated set of the U.S. television game show Family Double Dare.

[47] AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine said; "Maturity doesn’t necessarily suit the band ... but every step Good Charlotte makes toward a comfortable middle age on Cardiology is a step that succeeds, producing music that resonates louder and longer than the flashy twaddle of Good Morning Revival".

[14] Evan Lucy of Alternative Press praised the album for its return-to-roots musical style and wrote, "Good Charlotte might be multi-platinum superstars, but Cardiology might be their best effort yet".

Club writer Jason Heller pondered whether a back-to-basics approach was worth anything, before answering himself: "As it turns out, zip.

"[23] TC of Clash cautioned readers to avoid the album, stating it was "meandering chirpy slobber that sounds more boy band than ever".

[49] BBC Music Fraser McAlpine complimented the "sumptuous production touches" but said listeners do not hear a Good Charlotte record "expecting sonic revelation" and wrote the listener receives "a bunch of energetic, melodic, fun songs on the themes of love, girls and, well, more fun".

[21] In a review for Entertainment Weekly, Andy Greenwald found the album "struggles to stay relevant ... though [Joel Madden's] heart hasn't failed him, unfortunately his ear for hooks has".

[50] NME's Matt Wilkinson accused the band of unoriginality in their song titles and concluded the album is "monstrously offensive" and "the latest shit-streak from music's laziest sons".

[51] Amy Bangs of Rock Sound praised the group's decision to abandon "their early material's urban (ish) influences, while maintaining the fun parts of pop-punk", leaving listeners with "the Good Charlotte that brought us the brilliantly catchy 'Seasons' or 'Festival Song', without the awkward rapping interludes.

"[15] Rolling Stone writer Jon Dolan said the album is "rife with signs of rock ambition" but the eventual "results are still kid-friendly and mostly forgettable".

[52] Spin reviewer Mikael Wood wrote that the album "dials down the sparkle [of Good Morning Revival], which is kind of a bummer".

[53] Us Weekly's Ian Drew called it "their most diverse foray into pop-rock so far", with "both downright danceable fun" and "light nostalgia".