BURob13 9

This review contains spoilers , click expand to view . Green Day is at their best when they're angry, confused, and loud about it. In the 1980s and 1990s, that meant songs of frustration and adolescence. At 44, Billie Joe Armstrong can't pull that off anymore, and Green Day is the rare band that has been willing to progress their music as they've progressed as people.



The trilogy was largely an attempt to reach backwards for their youth, but the result was an uninspired and frankly creepy set of albums. Does anyone really want to hear a 40-year-old sing about losing his virginity (Sweet 16 of Uno), hooking up with random girls in a setting usually frequented by high school students (Makeout Party of Dos), or a girl hitting puberty (Drama Queen of Tre)? Green Day can't credibly create music on those topics anymore, and when they try, they wind up producing a muddled mess. There's no inspiration in singing about topics you can't relate to, and their music suffered.



Green Day has gone back to their familiar formula for success - singing about what they care about - but they've pushed the frontier by bringing that formula to the issues of 2016. In Revolution Radio, Green Day rages against the new normal and harkens back to a time when we felt more comfortable as a society.



Somewhere Now is an ode to the past. With a classic sound, it reminds us of our golden age and demands anger for our lost future before forcing the listener to confront the idea that they might be part of the problem.



Bang, Bang puts Armstrong in the shoes of a mass shooter and considers how the media turns mass murder into entertainment. Loud, fast, and in-your-face, this song is both as musically and lyrically aggressive as some of their angriest songs on American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown.



The title song is the anthem of a revolution of the discontent. Perhaps unintentionally, that revolution comes across as an aimless set of ideals with no solutions, perfectly capturing the frustrations of Millennials with the direction our country is taking. The style contains elements of American Idiot, but it's a refreshing new sound for Green Day. Parts of it remind me of Letterbomb.



Say Goodbye tackles the police state in a delightful fusion of alternative and punk. The sound provides a sense of impending dread that fits well with the lyrics.



Outlaws is a condemnation of rebellion as a game of youth. Branding those who stir the pot as outlaws and hooligans, this song offers the perspective of the elder who doesn't condone the rebellion of today while fondly recalling the rebellion of yesterday. The slow pacing and calm sections of this song suit the theme well, but the sound is a bit bland. I can't call this filler due to its slot within the overall theme, but it's also not a song I would consider listening to in isolation.



Bouncing Off the Wall portrays the sentiments of those who just want to live their lives ignoring the social changes and revolutionary sentiments around them. The message is captured best by the lyrics "Bombs away - hey / It's just another day / Of idle threat." The sound is classic Green Day, but the guitar solo is rather weak.



(Have to head out, but I'll continue to write more later tonight.) … Expand