Green Day Saviors review: Bubblegum pop meets the Sex Pistols… 30 years on, these three punks are still making one hell of a racket, writes ADRIAN THRILLS
GREEN DAY: Rescuers (Reprise)
Verdict: Back to basics
SLEATER-KINNEY: Small Rope (Loma Vista)
Verdict: Pained but powerful
Billie Joe Armstrong can pinpoint the exact moment his world went to hell in a handcart. “It hasn’t been the same since Bowie died,” he rages on Strange Days Are Here To Stay, a song on Green Day’s 14th album.
Whether it’s global unrest or just his late-running Uber, the punk veteran traces all his problems back to the death of his hero in January 2016.
There is no indication that the Thin White Duke is directly responsible. Armstrong’s lyrics bubble with outrage, but there is also humor in them. And the song, driven by dual harmony guitars reminiscent of Thin Lizzy, is one of the most memorable on an album that sticks to familiar punk-pop tropes while adding a few unforeseen twists.
Billie Joe Armstrong (pictured) can pinpoint the exact moment his world went to hell in a handcart. “It hasn’t been the same since Bowie died,” he rages on Strange Days Are Here To Stay, a song on Green Day’s 14th album.
For a trio, Green Day makes a great noise. Singer and guitarist Armstrong is expertly assisted by bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tré Cool
There’s a robust confidence to songs that combine bubblegum pop with a swelling guitar sound that nods to Sex Pistol Steve Jones (on Look Ma, No Brains!) and Pixies’ Joey Santiago (on Bobby Sox). In the photo: Green Day 20 years ago, in 2004
Saviors is a step up from 2020’s Father Of All…, a disappointing record with many childish jokes and little imagination.
Green Day has been refreshed for the first time in 12 years with the return of producer Rob Cavallo. Cavallo helmed the band’s 1994 breakthrough album Dookie as well as 2004’s seminal American Idiot, and he brings a reliable melodic punch to the 15 new songs here.
For a trio, Green Day makes a great noise. Singer and guitarist Armstrong is ably supported by bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tré Cool, and there’s a robust confidence to songs that mix bubblegum pop with a driving guitar sound that nods to Sex Pistol Steve Jones (on Look Ma, No Brains!) and Pixies’ Joey Santiago (on Bobby Sox).
A sense of loyalty to their roots – they emerged from the punk scene in California’s Bay Area in the 1980s – sometimes turns into parody. “Hit me with power chords,” Armstrong roars on Corvette Summer.
The American Dream Is Killing Me recycles the sentiments of American Idiot, an album that the band turned into a successful Broadway musical.
But they also adjust the formula. Dilemma, about alcohol addiction, consists of minor chords and doo-wop hooks, while Goodnight Adeline is a softly strummed break-up ballad. “My spirit is broken,” Armstrong laments.
There’s more heartbreak on Suzie Chapstick, with Cavallo providing the piano, while Father To A Son is lifted by David Campbell’s orchestrations. “We’re the last of the rockers to cause a commotion,” Billie Joe croons on the title track.
That stirs things up, but there’s a renewed sense of purpose here that suggests Green Day will be worth seeing on their summer tour.
There can be life after Bowie after all.
Music is a welcome refuge for American female duo Sleater-Kinney on Little Rope.
Taking their band name from a street in Washington state, singer Corin Tucker and guitarist Carrie Brownstein look to 1980s alternative rock and 1990s grunge on a series of aggressive yet expressive songs about grief and rehabilitation.
Midway through the making of this record, in the fall of 2022, Brownstein’s mother and stepfather were killed in a car accident while vacationing in Italy, and the emotions here are understandably raw.
Music is a welcome refuge for American female duo Sleater-Kinney (pictured) on Little Rop
Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss of Sleater-Kinney perform at the Civic Theater in New Orleans, Louisiana on April 19, 2015
The fast and furious opening track Hell is as gloomy as the title suggests. On Hunt You Down, Tucker sings that he’s been “down so long, I’m paying rent to the floor.”
But there is a remarkable resolve amid the fear. Say It Like You Mean It, a demand for honesty in a crumbling romance, is a beautiful pop moment, and the sense that life must go on is acute on Dress Yourself.
“Give me a reason, give me a cure,” Tucker pleads, as Brownstein complements her prayers with unexpected bursts of dissonant guitar.
- Both albums were released today. Green Day starts a UK tour on June 21 at Emirates Old Trafford (ticketmaster.co.uk).
The best of the new releases…
BY TULLY PORTER
BLACK GRAPE: Orange Cup (Dgaff)
BLACK GRAPE: Orange Head (Dgaff). Shaun Ryder is a hugely likable reality TV star, best known for inducing laughs on I’m A Celebrity… and Celebrity Gogglebox, but he still has time for music
Shaun Ryder is a hugely likable reality TV star, best known for making laughs on I’m A Celebrity… and Celebrity Gogglebox, but he still has time for music.
His fourth album with Black Grape hops haphazardly between Latin grooves, electronic dance rock and reggae. It could easily have been a mixed bag, but it is stylishly held together by his freewheeling vocals and the rapped contributions of fellow countryman Paul ‘Kermit’ Leveridge. “We get it on like the Rolling Stones,” Ryder sings on the pulsating dance track Panda. He hasn’t lost his swagger.
HANNAH WICKLUND: The Prize (Strawberry Moon)
HANNAH WICKLUND: The Prize (Strawberry Moon). Backed by members of Michigan rock band Greta Van Fleet, the 27-year-old repeats her mastery of the guitar and homely, aching vocals on The Prize.
An appearance at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival is a rite of passage for any aspiring blues musician, and South Carolina star Hannah Wicklund earned her stripes playing the event last year.
Backed by members of Michigan rock band Greta Van Fleet, the 27-year-old repeats her mastery of the guitar and homely, aching vocals on The Prize. “Maybe I’m abrasive, maybe I’m too much,” she sings on Witness, while there’s a hint of Stevie Nicks in the title track, a moving ballad about her growing pains. She will tour Britain in May.
MISCELLANEOUS: The color purple (Warner)
MISCELLANEOUS: The color purple (Warner). The latest film adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel reaches cinemas next week, but the extensive, albeit beautifully varied, soundtrack is already out
The latest film adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel reaches cinemas next week, but the extensive, albeit beautifully varied soundtrack is already out.
It is an epic diptych that begins with ensemble pieces and swinging show tunes from the 2005 Broadway spin-off. The film has also inspired a series of contemporary female artists to create new songs. Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige and actress Fantasia Barrino shine on heartfelt R&B ballads. Rapper Missy Elliott provides a reggae mix of Hell No!, while British singers Jorja Smith and Celeste display poise and strength.
VIENNA PHILHARMONIC: New Year’s Concert 2024 (Sony 19658858932, two CDs)
VIENNA PHILHARMONIC: New Year’s Concert 2024 (Sony 19658858932, two CDs). This New Year’s concert from the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna had a special flavor
This New Year’s concert from the golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna had a special touch.
Christian Thielemann, not usually associated with light music, seems to have loosened up a bit since the last time he took on this high-profile assignment, in 2019. He approached the task with his usual seriousness, looking at a number of unusual pieces, including a Quadrille by Bruckner. , but his actual execution was free from any stiffness.
Other pieces new to these concerts include Komzak’s Archduke Albrecht March and a Lumbye gallop.