After a nearly four-year layoff following the disastrous rollout and reception of their last three records, Green Day has returned with a stronger set of songs and a more concise approach to what made them so good in the first place.
First single “Bang Bang” should be the opening track on the disc as it is an absolute rager and one of the best tracks the band has released since at least 2004. Dissecting media and mass shootings all while defiantly doing it their way, we have a song here that’s full of energy, loud as shit, and sounds like some great ‘ol Green Day from the past.
Opening track “Somewhere New” has an interesting feel to it, but it feels like a leftover from the previous three discs. The title track is a good, quick rocker that gets things down to the point in a very short amount of time. The overall feel of this disc doesn’t feel political or concept-like at all, and it’s great to see them get away from everything that made everything past 2004 sound a bit iffy.
“Outlaws” and “Bouncing Off The Wall” are the weakest of the bunch here; “Outlaws” in particular has the same feeling as something from 21st Century Breakdown and no one wants to deal with that in 2016. “Say Goodbye” is a bit different – it’s a bit slower but still works well. “Still Breathing” is a really great track and one of the most surprising tracks here, one that is definitely worth checking out.
“Youngblood” is just average on repeated listens, but it’s still a decent enough song. “Forever Now” should remind the listener of “Homecoming” or “Dirty Rotten Bastards.” It’s a multi-part piece that is still one of the most striking tracks here – an absolute homerun. But the real surprise is “Ordinary World,” which is a straight up ballad, but it works so well and presents the band in a new light, something that hasn’t really happened since the Warning record (which has always been a personal favorite of mine).
Anyone looking for some autobiographical piece of gravitas after the band’s 2012 meltdown might be slightly disappointed, and anyone hoping they would sound like they did circa ’94 or ’95 will be upset as well. But overall, this is a really good record and such an improvement over the last three belly flops. They may not be able to recover their overall popularity in this day and age, but they have made a better record than Sum 41 and Yellowcard, so they can wear that badge proudly.