Review Summary: I don't remember the last time Pop-Punk sounded so good.
I'M NOT ***ING AROUND! ("Horseshoes And Handgrenades")
Who would have thought that a band named after spending a day smoking weed would end up being the biggest band in the world fifteen years later?
If anything, "21st Century Breakdown" is the closest return to form for Green Day since "Dookie" or "Insomniac". The "American Idiot" vibe is obviously present, but instead of epic nine-minute opuses they have crafted eighteen tracks that utilize the four-chord familiarity of past Green Day albums but still keep the Queen and The Who influence to fill out the songs and add a touch of "rock arena" tenacity.
Some may argue that Green Day are a lost cause and that they only vie for commercial success at this point in their careers. Part of that argument relies on Green Day being a "Punk" band. Why can't musicians push past their throes of yesterday and just write whatever sounds good?
"21st Century Breakdown" is an ambitious record that realizes it's ambitions. As soon as the first track, "Song Of The Century", starts you can feel yourself being drawn in to Billie Joe's vocals which bleed a comfort drenched in hostility. The real opening song of the album is the self-titled "21st Century Breakdown" and it gets its hooks into you almost immediately, including a very Queen-like guitar solo towards the end. The concept of the album is about a couple named Christian and Gloria and their struggle through modern-day America. The failed economy, the constant nagging of advertisement, whether it be billboards, the radio, or television, the looming fear of a Nuclear attack (start reading the news and you'll understand) and the part religion plays in the world of today.
For a band like Green Day to write three very anti-religious songs is unprecedented. Those being "Christian's Inferno", "East Jesus Nowhere" and "Peacemaker". They are currently (and have been since "American Idiot") one of the biggest bands in the world. For them to write lines such as "A fire burns today, on blasphemy and genocide, the sirens of decay, will infiltrate the faith fanatics" ("East Jesus Nowhere") and "I am the atom bomb, I am the chosen one, toxin your reservoir and then return man to ape" ("Christian's Inferno"), would be suicide for any other act. What this album relies on are good songs that are memorable and stick in your head like crazy glue.
There are a few problems i have with "21st Century Breakdown". I figured I would get them out of the way before finishing the review. "American Eulogy" is one of the stronger songs on the record, but the verses in the first part ("Mass Hysteria") are identical to "Deadbeat Holiday" from "Warning". This is a feeling you'll get when listening to the album, with some songs sounding like the tracks on "Warning". Just done better. A LOT better. These little rip-offs are easy to ignore but it seems like Green Day re-hashed some of their older riffs because they wanted to rewrite mistakes of the past. The song "21 Guns", though enjoyable, seems out of place and just a little too... John Lennon? It doesn't follow the rest of the album and could very well be the "Wake Me Up Before September Ends" of "21st Century Breakdown". "Know Your Enemy" is another, slight, disappointment with its repetitive structure and boring chord progression. With all honesty, "Know Your Enemy" could vanish from the album and I wouldn't have one complaint. The only positives of the song are the guitar solo and BJ screaming at the end of the bridge.
No worries though. The album has a plot, and what most listeners and old-school Green Day fans don't notice on their newer records is that the lyrics are in a class all their own. It's not just about playing "Punk Rock" anymore. Each song can stand on its own but still remains interconnected in some way or another thanks to BJ's words of dissent. "Last Night On Earth" is definitely a love song, but when you take into account the title it leaves a certain unease as it plays on. "Restless Heart Syndrome", a slower song, picks up where "Know Your Enemy" left off and identifies you as your own enemy during the interlude which is a huge slap in the face to all of us debtors that helped drive this nation into a hole. On four of the tracks BJ sings some of his lines in falsetto ("Before The Lobotomy", Last Night On Earth", "Restless Heart Syndrome", "21 Guns") but its a refreshing take on the Green Day sound, showing they are not a one-trick pony.
From the beautiful piano intro in "Viva La Gloria!", to the older sound of "Murder City", Green Day really cover most of the bases here and then some. There are weaker moments on "21st Century Breakdown" but the stronger ones shine through brighter than ever. My favorite part of the whole record are the lyrics which mirror our broken nation and speak truths above what anyone else is willing to say. It tells a love story riddled with the complications and insanity of the modern-age and doesn't hold back from controversial opinion in the favor of commercialism, bringing about the point that one day we may need to riot in the streets to take back our country. It also helps that BJ is a damn good singer.
If anything, "21st Century Breakdown" is the most "Punk Rock" Green Day have been since "Insomniac". Just listen to "Christian's Inferno", "Murder City", or "Horseshoes And Handgrenades". If you don't think those songs are Punk as *** then you are an idiot. Sorry.
