After four years of patiently waiting, Green Day’s newest full-length studio album, “Saviors” was released on Jan. 19. The album has been described as Green Day’s return to form and their best, most cohesive project since “American Idiot” — which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
However, I have a dreadful confession to make: I did not get the hype for Green Day’s “classics.”
Sure, the hits are great. “Basket Case,” “Brain Stew,” “American Idiot” and “When I Come Around” are undeniably influential in their respective musical lanes. As concise records, I find most of Green Day’s output mediocre.
While “American Idiot” triumphs and basks in the glory of its rock opera, Green Day ends up bombing on most of its albums.
“¡UNO!,” “¡DOS!,” and “¡TRÉ!” flop hard as Green Day’s over-saturation of 2012, “Revolution Radio” fails at cashing in on the overly produced pop-rock sound of 2016, “Father of all…” simply sucks, “Nimrod” plays it too safe off of the success of “Insomniac” and frankly — aside from the hits — 1994’s “Dookie” does not work as an album for me.
With this being the case, I should not have liked “Saviors” as much as I did. Green Day managed to be all the things I thought they were not capable of: polished, timely, refined, catchy and — most importantly — fun again.
The opening track, “The American Dream Is Killing Me,” powerfully alludes to the housing crisis as well as financial and political instability that has plagued the 2020s — critiquing the classic idea of “The American Dream.”
“From sea to shinin’ sea/Whitewashed upon the beach/My country under siege/On private property,” lead vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong sings.
The third track, “Bobby Sox,” is probably my favorite song on the album. It is a robust bisexual anthem where Armstrong asks, “Do you wanna be my girlfriend? Do you wanna be my boyfriend?” — a not-so-subtle nod to Armstrong’s sexuality. The track also impressed me instrumentally and vocally, with both aspects reminding me of early 2000s Linkin Park-esque nu-metal.
The mixing and overall production on this record are really solid, clean and polished. Unlike “Revolution Radio,” it doesn’t come off as too tidy — there is some clear grit in the mix. The bridges and choruses in almost every track are very clever and progress the songs nicely.
Other highlights on the record include “Dilemma,” “Coma City,” “Strange Days Are Here To Stay” and “Father to a Son” — the last of which is a beautifully touching track about Armstrong’s commitment to fatherhood despite his struggles in life.
Tracks like this are the reason why Green Day has stuck around for as long as they have. The emotional potency found in tracks like “Father to a Son” on this album and on other records such as “Wake Me Up When September Ends” and “21 Guns” really cements Green Day as a capable rock band.
Hopefully, this album will not get lost in the swath of releases in the coming months. While this album is special for Green Day fans, will it have the staying power to be considered one of the band’s smash hits?
Rating: 3/5 stars
