GREEN DAY: Saviors
Hard to believe it was 20 years ago that Green Day unleashed American Idiot, a furious rock opera dissecting the fading global powerhouse that is the United States of America. It was a comeback from the brink of early ‘00s irrelevancy, a vaguely political manifesto that pulsated across a million iPods, and even made the leap onto Broadway's grand stage, eventually, if somewhat questionably.
American Idiot was damn near miraculous, a generational case of lightning striking twice after the band had already sold 10 million copies of '94's Dookie. These two records have been, for lack of a better term, tough acts to follow, although Green Day certainly hasn’t stopped trying. See: 2009’s 21st Century Breakdown, a rock opera equivalent of The Hangover Part II.
Fast forward to The Now, and Green Day are roaring back with Saviors, thrusting familiar foes - war, systemic wrongs, political charlatans - back into the crossfire. And you know what? It’s not a triple crown, but somehow, pretty damn close to a spiritual successor to those two classic touchstones.
The album launches with the raucous "The American Dream Is Killing Me," where Billie Joe Armstrong's nasal howl takes aim at societal ills, while nailing what may be the best pre-chorus in the band’s history. "Look Ma, No Brains!" resurrects their jubilant absurdity, while "Strange Days Are Here to Stay" flirts with apocalyptic visions.
"Living in the '20s" amplifies distorted guitars into a solo, Armstrong's chants about mass shootings climaxing in a visceral scream. Through it all, producer Rob Cavallo tames the chaos with finesse.
There are tender moments like the '90s college rock sing-along "Bobby Sox." But thankfully, nothing on Saviors is as sitcom-finale-ready as 1997’s Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life.)
For those who have fond memories of Hot Topic- or even those of us who don’t- Saviors stands as a testament to voiced frustrations and arrested development. These three-chord anthems may not exactly be revolutionary, but they’re a fine soundtrack to the actual revolution, or whatever comes next. A-
