With a back catalogue full of generation-defining hits, a stadium tour on the horizon, and their legacy already cemented as one of the most important bands to come out of North America, it’s hard to fathom what is left for a band like Green Day to tick off.
While it would be easy for the Californian band to go the way of their contemporaries and neglect newer material in favour of a never-ending greatest hits tour, Green Day have instead returned with their fourteenth studio album, ‘Saviors’ which sees them recapturing their Ramones-esque swagger and pairing it with a pop sensibility that was at the forefront of their mainstream success in the 90s and early 00s.
Still riding the fallout from the critical response that came from their derivative and stale 2020 album ‘Father of All…’, the band rekindled their creative partnership with producer Rob Cavallo, primarily known for his work on Green Day’s two biggest selling albums, ‘Dookie’ and ‘American Idiot.’ As the ‘Saviors’ roll-out began, early singles were met with a positive reception from critics, and if you whispered it amongst superfans, the prospect of Green Day returning with an album of substance was met with a quiet excitement.
This excitement was felt by the band too, as the album release was matched with an extravagant marketing campaign – spearheaded by the viral clip of the band performing ‘American Idiot’ on the New York Subway.
In the leadup to ‘Saviors’, online sceptics had been quick to mention that the recent output from the trio could be used as evidence to prove that their best days were behind them. In spite of that, the 15-track album is some of their best work in two decades, as the band, fronted by Billy Joe Armstrong, provides 46 minutes of power chords, punk ethos, and sprawling political statements.
With one eye on the American election later this year, Armstrong muses on everything from school shootings on ‘Living in the 20s’ to the Black Lives Matter movement throughout the frenetic ‘Coma City’. Opener and lead single ‘The American Dream is Killing Me’ serves as the album’s mission statement, as Armstrong sings ‘people on the street, unemployed and obsolete’ before a galloping refrain that is more of a war cry than a sing-along anthem, questioning the validity of ‘The American Dream’ and the pedestal it is often placed on. Now 20 years on from Green Day’s criticism of the Bush Administration throughout ‘American Idiot’, ‘Saviors’ serves as a state of the times address from a band that has always shown off their left-leaning values proudly. Meanwhile, on the gorgeously melodic ‘Strange Days Are Here To Stay’, Armstrong’s lyrics are an unwelcome reminder of the new abnormal that has plagued the world since 2016, or, in his own words, ‘Ever since Bowie died, it hasn’t been the same’.
While political commentary is apparent throughout, some of ‘Saviors’ most enjoyable moments come from the angsty thrash-around anthems that are reminiscent of every classic Green Day song that inspired a generation of kids to pick up a guitar. ‘Look Ma, No Brains’ provides one of Armstrong’s catchiest hooks in years and is so filled to the brim with trepidation and teenage pomp that it’s hard to believe a 51-year-old wrote it. Elsewhere, ‘Corvette Summer’ channels AC-DC with a repeating riff over an annoyingly endearing refrain. While ‘Fuck it up on my rock and roll’ won’t earn Armstrong any songwriting plaudits, the irony-laced hook is a welcome breather from the album’s heavier topics. The plaudits will instead be reserved for the tender, string-laden ‘Father to a Son’ that provides ‘Saviors’ its most heartfelt moment. Dedicated to Armstrong’s children, the melody recalls one of the band’s biggest hits, ‘Wake Me Up When September Ends’, which in turn was written for his own father, who passed away when he was just ten years old. A full-circle moment that shines a spotlight on the frontman’s ability as a songwriter almost leads to contempt when you remember some of Green Day’s recent output. Where have songs like this been for the last 10 years?
As the album builds to a grandstand finish with slow-burner ‘Fancy-Sauce’, the band neglects providing a solution to the current state of the world and instead chooses to laugh at the absurdity of it. As the last note is struck and Green Day retreat into the abyss, you are left to wonder if the current state of the world is salvageable. As the world continues to go up in flames, the only thing that is certain is that Green Day will be there to soundtrack it all.
Now three decades into a glittering career, Green Day’s fourteenth album, ‘Saviors’ proves that while they have already been cast in bronze, they are still capable of making truly golden material.
Words by Romesh Cruse