¡Uno! cover art

I, along with the rest of the fanbase, was alive with excitement when the album artwork for ¡Uno! was released on Wednesday along with a song sample from the album. I was also stricken with the complete divergence from any sound Green Day has ever had in the past.All the way back in August when the band was playing secret shows galore, I wrote an editorial about what I presumed to be their "new sound." The evidence is pointing to the fact that the samples we heard then combined with what we know now will produce a sound that Green Day has never had before, something that is all at once retro, modern, and absolutely enjoyable. More enamoring than their new sound, however, is the image that is coming with it. The days of a childish demeanor were replaced almost a decade ago by serious uniformity, but both of those images seem to be disintegrating into a crazy drunken joyride that is chaotic but simultaneously well-calculated. Ever since the Foxboro Hot Tubs made their appearance in the winter of 2008, many fans have stated that they wished the fun-loving Rev and his motley crew could make their way into Green Day's stoic shirt-and-tie lifestyle, and the two forms of expression are certainly merging with this new venture. The band seems to be bringing the excitement and novelty of their first years in the music industry into their current world of flashy arena shows; mixing business and fun and thinning the line between child and adult.Their sound, however, seems to be distinctlyadults, which is obviously quite a change from the angst-riddled anthems like "Jesus of Suburbia" and "21st Century Breakdown." Billie and the crew may be visiting their earliest influences from the '70s and potentially even earlier. The song clip that we were given has a distinctly summer vibe and almost reminds me of the likes of the Beach Boys and certainly of the '60s garage rock that the Hot Tubs perfected. The potential tracklist for ¡Uno! ought to be very exciting and different, and the promotions and stage shows surrounding the trilogy will be something that I anticipate to be a form of artful chaos.Earlier this week, I tweeted that Green Day seems to be losing their minds. I of course mean it in only the best of ways. Inhibitions seem to be flying to the wayside, and as I've said before, I'm willing to board the bandwagon in September and hold on for the ride.