Album Review: Green Day – ‘Revolution Radio’
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It has been a while since we’ve had a decent Green Day record, here’s to hoping that Revolution Radio breaks the pattern. I’ve been looking forward to this new album ever since “Bang Bang” was released as a single and didn’t totally suck. Now this is the first time I’m listening to the album so I’ve decided to write about each song as I experience it, so below are just a few first impressions.
‘Somewhere Now’
Starts out too slow, not how I think Green Day should have started an album. Picks up but still sounds too much like southern fried rock for me.
‘Bang Bang’
Okay that first song was weird, but this is what I wanted to hear. Ever since it was leaked as a single I’ve been looking forward to this album and hoping it all sounds like this track.
‘Revolution Radio’
I can bop to this title track, it keeps up the pace, that “Bang Bang” set and it does certainly have that later Green Day feel that I’ve been missing. However I can’t bring myself to love it as much as I did the rawness of “Bang Bang”.
‘Say Goodbye’
The intro to this song has so much potential, its relatively unique and not like anything I’ve heard Green Day do before. However the hook seems to be the most unique part of the track as it just feels so much like everything Green Day did post-American Idiot to try and recapture that fire.
‘Outlaws’
For a song called outlaws, I can’t really think of a safer song to write. Everything about this track is leaves me just a little unimpressed. It’s a bit like Green Days’ version of a power ballad, which is fine, but just like the previous track, I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve heard this song before. At the end of the bridge they even use the same vocal hook that I KNOW was in “Stray Heart”. It’s also way too long, totally kills any semblance of pacing in the album
‘Bouncing off the Walls’
This one is a nice middle of the road song. It sounds like something that belongs in an early 2000s coming of age teen movie. Now for me that’s a good thing, I enjoy mindlessly catchy pop punk, and that’s all this is. It’s fun.
‘Still Breathing’
One of the stronger points of the album so far, it’s a very well constructed song, I just wish it were faster,
‘Youngblood’
A decent song instrumentally, I have huge problems with this songs’ writing, It seems lazy, at times Billie Joe is just saying things that rhyme and/or are vaguely related. Sometimes this can be cool, I’ve certainly seen it executed well, but this new Green Day just didn’t sell it to me.
‘Too Dumb To Die’
Another decent bop of a song, not many chances are taken here, but they don’t necessarily have to be. It’s worth giving this one a listen, if only as background music.
‘Troubled Times’
This song elicits absolutely no strong feelings from me, except that Billie Joe Armstrong chanting “we live in troubled times” seems a little bit obvious.
‘Forever Now’
Green Day wakes you back up with this one it’s a romp, it doesn’t slow down and its got that classic Green Day pounding-on-the-guitar sound that got me into the band in the first place. Definitely chek this one out. It’s a longer song (Not “Jesus of Suburbia” long but almost 7 minutes) and it takes some chances which I always like to see with these older bands. I even like the oddly simple line that gets repeated later on “I ain’t gonna stand in line no more”. That, to me, is very Green Day, just the right amount of rebellious. Like they’re still at the thing, but man they’ve just had it with this bullshit wait.
‘Ordinary World’
Ok Greenday finish strong, lets hear it! AHHH Nooooo! You’re telling me you’re gonna end your record Called Revolution Radio with album art of a boom box destroyed and set on fire with an acoustic track that sounds like discount Ed Sheeran? This album dies with a whimper and that just doesn’t feel right.
In conclusion my first impression of this album is exactly average, there are moments of brilliance and boredom. I really wanted to like this new album after the release of “Bang Bang” and I feel a bit let down now that I’ve heard the whole thing and that was the peak. This record sounds like Green Day had one or two great ideas and then had to write the rest of an album to fill space. Most of the record is just fine, and maybe it’s my loyalty to pop punk, but I can’t help but feel a little let down.
5/10
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