Green Day, UNO

Green Day was the punk band that surprised everyone with their political album American Idiot.  Several albums later they return to their punk roots with ¡UNO!

¡UNO! (the first in a four-part album plan) takes a stripped-down approach to music, blasting out songs of anger and speed one after another.  Romance is reduced to one-night stands ("I got an impulse/so repulsive that it burns/ I wanna break your heart/until it makes your stomach turn"), music criticism becomes a call to "someone kill the DJ/shoot the fucking DJ" and high-school nostalgia becomes "I'd rather go to the funeral/ than to this high school reunion."  The songs are mostly three-chord rapid-fire attacks, only slowing slightly for the album's closer "Oh Love."

While ¡UNO! isn't cohesive as an album -- you could shuffle all the songs and it would sound the same -- the songs do showcase the strength of Green Day as a band.  The songs deliver the punk attitude and energy of teenagers just starting out, but with the skill and timing Green Day have developed over the years.  There's no more commentary here than you'd expect from angry young teens, but the songs still kick ass.

Overall grade: B+
Reviewed by James Lynch

Green Day, 21st CENTURY BREAKDOWN

It's been five years since Green Day launched a full-on musical assaunt on conservative America with American Idiot. So how do they follow that up in a new America? There's still plenty to worry about and rail against, as Green Day demonstrates with their latest album, 21st Century Breakdown.

"They're playing the song of the century/of panic and promise and prosperity" sings Billy Joe Armstrong on the album's opening, and this mix of optimism and pessimism permeates 21st Century Breakdown. Bush may be gone, but Green Day warns against the decline of America in songs like the title track and "American Eulogy." The brave rebel in "!Viva la Gloria!" becomes "so unholy" in "?Viva la Gloria?" The band also tackles banal music ("The Static Age,"), romance ("Last Night on Earth"), and weapons ("Peacemaker") and peace ("21 Guns").

Green Day remains in great form, both musically and lyrically. Armstrong's vocals support both tender moments and screaming jags. Tre Cool's percussion is great throughout, and guitar from Armstrong and bass from Mike Dirnt keep things rocking from start to finish. ("Horseshoes and Hand Grenades" is a contender for being the best loud song of 2009.) 21st Century Breakdown may not have the full thematic focus of American Idiot, but it's a great modern rock album. And the Target special edition (as a disclaimer, I must point out that I work for Target. I! Have! Disclaimed!) has six live tracks that show Green Day is great out of the studio too.

Overall grade: A
Reviewed by James Lynch