Green Day – Saviors

Post American Idiot, decent Green Day albums have been hard to come by. There was the alright but overblown 21st Century Breakdown, Uno!, Dos! and Tre!’s deluge of mostly forgetful material, the slighter better Revolution Radio, and the less said about Father of all Motherfuckers the better. The new record Saviors bucks this trend of managed decline and is actually, whisper it, quite good. 

The stuttering, American Idiot era riff of ‘The American Dream Is Killing Me’ kicks things off in suitable style – a hook laden rocker bemoaning the state of America today. That aside, Saviors largely takes the same philosophy as F.O.A.M –  no theme or concept, just 3 to 4 minutes of catchy, Punk adjacent rock n roll. Thankfully, unlike F.O.A.M, it pairs this with good songs, energy and a joie de vivre – one of many results being the infectious ‘One Eyed Bastard’ and its joyfully simple “Bada bing, bada bing, bada boom!” refrain.

Choc full of 80s references and a relentless guitar attack, the short but sweet ‘1981’ comes racing out of the blocks and is all wrapped up in 129 seconds. “Bankrupt the planet for assholes in space” blasts Billie on ‘Coma City’ – a delightful slice of old school GD, with a nice and chunky bass line. ‘Living In The ‘20s’ is a short, sharp and punchy blast of Punk about everyday life in the states. At just over two minutes ‘Look Ma, No Brains’ is similarly succinct, with a fuzzy music video to match its 90s sound. 

34 years since their debut the Californian trios sound is firmly entrenched, so there are no surprises here, but the no nonsense, catchy rock n roll on offer here is done well and is very easy to like. You will be hard pressed not to be charmed by ‘Corvette Summer’s glammy stomp and plentiful cowbell. And as for ballads, the best of the bunch is ‘Suzie Chapstick’, with its timeless, americana style melody and soft melancholia.

The last three songs, the big soppy power ballad ‘Father to a Son’ especially, end the album on a bit of an anti climax. That aside, their 14th record is a refreshingly good display of their punchy rock n roll – nothing complex, just head bobbing riffs and hummable hooks played with gusto.

7.5/10