Review Summary: Part one of what was supposed to be an 'epic trilogy' by Green Day
Hey everyone, real quick, long time reader, first time reviewer. I needed something to fill my down time so I decided to make an account here, and what better way to start off than by reviewing the recently released trilogy by my favorite band, Green Day. When I heard we'd be getting THREE full length albums within a couple months of each other, I could hardly contain myself. This is the same band with a 4 year gap between Warning and American Idiot, and then a 5 year gap until 21st Century Breakdown. I thought how could this possibly go wrong? Well, let's take a look at the first installment, Uno!
This album is, as my rating above will indicate, "poor". Now I'll admit, I hold Green Day to a higher standard since they've been my favorite band since 1993, but I certainly wasn't expecting this at all. The lyrics on this album are horrendous. I thought one of the best qualities Green Day had was the maturation of their lyrics on American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown, but this album takes a huge backstep. Not only are they laughable, even childish at times, but the profanity is way too much. Don't get me wrong, I am not offended by swearing, there's not a single word in the English language that offends me, but this album overkills it, most of it is unnecessary and adds nothing to the song.
The album starts off strongly with the opener "Nuclear Family". A very solid effort, sort of reminiscent of some pre-Warning Green Day material. The second track, "Stay the Night", while a slightly different sound than we've seen from Green Day (but one that gets repeated throughout these three albums) is also very enjoyable. The song is a love song, but it's very catchy and upbeat in general, giving the album a nice 1-2 punch to kick off.
Next we have "Carpe Diem", or as I like to call it "Suffocate: Part 2". Yeah, remember Suffocate? from the 2002 album Shenanigans? The pre chorus to this song sounds nearly identical to the one on Suffocate, with the word being used (celebrate) even RHYMING with Suffocate. Overall, it's not a bad song, but I feel like we've all heard it before.
Track 4 is "Let Yourself Go", with sounds of classic Dookie or Insomniac era Green Day... at least until you listen to the lyrics that is. Good lord if this isn't the most repetitive song I've heard in a while. I appreciate the differing vocal style from Billie with his post-chorus screams, but the song doesn't hold up well in repeat listenings due to its' repetitiveness.
Remember when I said "Let Yourself Go" was the most repetitive song I've heard in a while? Well, that's because I hadn't made it to track 5, "Kill the DJ", yet. This song was released as a single (like "Let Yourself Go") but also like it's next door neighbor, is nothing more than a repetitive-fest and unnecessary f-bomb laced tune. The sound is totally different, but the end result is the same.
"Fell For You" follows the same format as "Stay the Night", a love song with a upbeat tempo, but is ultimately not as good as "Stay the Night". "Loss of Control" is a solid track, sounding like it was ripped straight off the album Nimrod. "Troublemaker" suffers from something we will find WAY too common on this album and the 2 other installments, a bland, uninspired chorus that consists of one line being repeated over and over and nothing more.
Track 9, "Angel Blue", is one of my favorites from the trilogy, and I'm not really sure why. It's catchy, fun, and overall enjoyable. "Sweet 16" offers us yet another love song, another recurring theme on the trilogy, and while it's not a bad song, it's largely forgettable.
Next is track 11, "Rusty James", or as I call it "Scattered: Part 2". Yeah, Scattered! Remember that gem from the album Nimrod? Well this song sounds exactly like it, so it falls under the same category as "Carpe Diem" where you feel like you've heard it before.
The album closes with the first single, "Oh Love". While quite the departure from their usual style, I greatly enjoy this track, and despite giving us 1/3 of the album as love songs, this one is the most enjoyable and memorable.
Overall, the album is worth a listen if you're a diehard Green Day fan like I am. It's not very good for repeat listenings though, as most of the songs sound the same and blur together with only a couple stand outs. I know I rated it a "2- Poor" but that's just compared to my lofty Green Day standards. Next time, we tackle Dos! Thanks for reading
