Few bands have made a mark on the world of rock quite like punk veterans Green Day. Over their lengthy career they have sold many millions of records, been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and had their music transposed into a Broadway musical. What then, after more than 25 years in the business, could be left to achieve?
With the band’s 12th full-length LP, ‘Revolution Radio,’ it’s clear that new achievements are not the primary goal. And despite inferences made by its title, it’s not really about saying anything new either. No, it’s more about ensuring that the trio’s brand of simple, effective pop-punk is kept alive until their hearts stop beating and their lungs give out.
That spirited sentiment is most obvious on first half riots Bang Bang and Revolution Radio, both of which share blistering tempos and military-style backing vocals.
They’re also the album’s most politically-motivated tracks, with frontman Billie Joe Armstrong taking inspiration from a mass shooting and a Black Lives Matter protest he witnessed in New York respectively.
Armstrong also makes clear reference not only to his own struggles, including a stint in rehab, but also to the band’s personal battles, with bassist Mike Dirnt’s wife, Brittney, and long-time touring musician Jason White both undergoing treatment for cancer in recent years. “But I’m still alive!” Armstrong belts on album highlight Still Breathing, a track that wouldn’t sound out of place on 2004’s ‘American Idiot’. “Are you scared to death to live?” he later asks you, me, himself.
But, for all the album’s musical competence and thematic poignancy, it’s no ‘Dookie’, no ‘American Idiot’. It’s not going to redefine a genre, nor is it going to become an international superhit. ‘Revolution Radio’ is, though, an improvement on the scattershot 'Uno!,' 'Dos!' and 'Tre!' and a sign of a more focused direction for the band. It seems the time for Green Day to call it a day is still firmly beyond the horizon.
Green Day Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Sun February 05 2017 - LEEDS first direct Arena
Mon February 06 2017 - MANCHESTER Arena
Wed February 08 2017 - LONDON O2 Arena
Sat July 01 2017 - LONDON Hyde Park
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