Music Reviews and More

On September 24th, mere days after lead singer and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong went off on stage at the iHeartRadio Festival, the band known as Green Day released their ninth studio album.

Titled ¡Uno!, the album is the first in a trilogy of albums recorded simultaneously which will include ¡Dos! in November and ¡Tré! in January. The album’s musical theme is very pop-punk to the point where it actually reaches straight pop at certain points.

The first three tracks, “Nuclear Family”, “Stay the Night”, and “Carpe Diem” are reminiscent of tracks from Nimrod and Warning, utilizing powerful chord progression and tight percussion. The fourth song, “Let Yourself Go” brings the punk anthem style we experienced during American Idiot, while “Kill the DJ” is a simple dance song. The rest of the album is a grab bag of pop-punk that’s sure to please fans of what Green Day has become, but what about the fans of what Green Day used to be? That’s what the next album is for.

¡Dos!, which is scheduled for release in November, will reportedly feature a more garage rock style akin to early Green Day and their side project, Foxborough Hot Tubs. This should please those who’ve grown to loathe Green Day as sellouts to the corporate music machine, or maybe it won’t. It’s sure as Hell going to please me.

Getting back to the topic at hand, Green Day’s ¡Uno! album is a listenable diversion to occupy yourself with until the release of the next album, which should be much more enjoyable. If you’re a fan of Green Day, you should check this one out. If you’re not a fan, however, don’t feel like you need to go out of your way to see what it’s all about. You’d be better served by checking out the band’s back catalogue and waiting a month and a half.