bottled the band. Between September and November, the group embarked on a headlining US arena trek, the first half of which was supported by Mest and Something Corporate, while the remaining half was supported by Eve 6 and Goldfinger. The Living End were also due to support, but had to cancel, citing issues with their US visas. On November 12, 2003, Good Charlotte appeared on Total Request Live. In December, the group went toured the UK with Sugarcult and Mest. In January 2004, the group performed various shows in Japan. Critical reception Reviewers were split on the album's pop punk sound. In his brief review, rock critic Robert Christgau summarised this aspect as: "honest pop band presents its songs punk, and that makes some people so mad". Mark Beaumont of NME wrote a positive review, saying that this was the "sudden extra fold of punk-pop's cerebral cortex, the evolutionary leap into an unexpected maturity". Kristina Feliciano of Entertainment Weekly deemed the record generic, writing; "These 14 tidily produced songs not only sound a lot like each other, they also resemble ones by someone else—namely, blink-182. And that band’s tunes derive from elsewhere still." The staff at Uncut was slightly more positive, commenting that while the band came across as a lighter version of Green Day, "there are enough solid rock moments to keep their youthful following happy". Buffo Schnadelbach of Rock Hard noted that the "somewhat stereotypical mix of cheerfully upbeat catchy tunes, slightly melancholic anthems and almost pure pop numbers gives me a lot more amusement". Rolling Stone writer Greg Kot considered the group to be "much more persuasive when they let their vulnerability crack through the surface of these slightly overbaked songs, in which elaborate production touches mask the band's three-chord limitations". R.S. Murthi of New Straits Times said the songs "from a wastrel's life aren't always captivatingly present, at least musically". PopMatters writer Adrien Begrand was harsher, deducing that the band have "very little musical range. All they do is play the same three chords and pop vocal melodies". Several critics lambasted the album's lyrics. AllMusic reviewer Tom Semioli called it "downright predictable" as it rejigs "worn clichés aplenty on each track". Chart Attack Steve Servos complained about the "clichéd lyrics of hard knocks and spoiled celebrities", going on to say that "good songwriters have a knack for writing personal, therapeutic lyrics without coming across as such.