There’s something about Green Day and years ending in four. Thirty years ago, ‘Dookie’ sent the band stratospheric. In 2004, their near-flawless rock opera masterpiece ‘American Idiot’ set the seal on a theatrical reinvention. So, no pressure in 2024, then. Fortunately, ‘Saviors’ is the band’s best record since George W. Bush was festering in the White House.
Opener The American Dream Is Killing Me ensures that the album starts with a bang — even if it’s not quite at the level of its older brother, the ‘American Idiot’ title track — and tumbles into the instant earworm Bobby Sox, where Billie Joe Armstrong screams “Do you wanna be my girlfriend?” during a grungy chorus before switching it out for “Do you wanna be my boyfriend?”.
Look Ma, No Brains is a high-octane two-minute punk number that in the wrong hands could sound trite and immature, but there’s no risk of that happening with Green Day. Likewise, 1981 is a slice of vintage pop-punk that’s sure to thrill long-standing fans.
All three members of Green Day are in their early 50s now, and they strike an excellent balance between fist-pumping exuberance and the sort of maturity you might expect from three elder statesmen.
Father to a Son begins as the sort of stripped-back pop-rock number the band have long since mastered before erupting into a crescendo of almost symphonic rock, like Bitter Sweet Symphony if it had been snorting whizz. On the closer, Fancy Sauce, Armstrong is obviously well aware of his age and experience — as well as everything that’s going on around him — as he sings: “We all die young someday / We all die young and watch it slip away.”
With an election coming up and the spectre of Donald Trump looming once again, it feels as though this is the Green Day album we need right now. There’s a welcome mix of the political and the personal, a fusion of punk fury, pop melodies, and good old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll. They’ve still got it.
Green Day Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Fri June 21 2024 - MANCHESTER Emirates Old Trafford
Sun June 23 2024 - ISLE OF WIGHT Seaclose Park
Tue June 25 2024 - GLASGOW Bellahouston Park
Thu June 27 2024 - DUBLIN Marlay Park
Sat June 29 2024 - LONDON Wembley Stadium
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