Review Summary: Dos is a fitting name, because this album is utter '#2'
So we've reached part 2 of the Green Day trilogy, "Dos!". I gave an unfavorable review to Uno, but all in all, it's not "terrible" per se, but after how disappointing it was compared to my expectations heading in, I expected more of the same on Dos. I would be shocked if it ended up being worse than Uno!... but, somehow, that it does.
The album starts off with "See you tonight", a slow, rather boring and forgettable song. Not the type if openers I am used to on a Green Day album. It's not a bad song, just not a good choice for an opener. The album takes a sharp turn with track 2 however, with a song that's literally called "*** Time". I wish I were joking. At first I thought it was a song maybe about time moving too fast or something and the band cursing it for that reason, but no, it leads way to one of the most uninspired pick up lines I've ever heard. Seriously, next time your at a party or a bar or anywhere really and you see a girl you're into, go up to her and say "baby baby, it's *** time!" and see how that turns out for you.
Track 3 is "Stop When The Red Lights Flash", a lyric from "Oh Love" on Uno! and would also be used on Tre! (but we'll get to that). Solid song, not spectacular or anything. The next song, however, is. "Lazy Bones" gets my stamp of approval for being the best song on Dos! The lyrics are cliched, I am aware, but the overall sound and feel is simply better than anything we've heard on either album to this point. "Wild One" is alright, a nice heavy but slow rocker about a girl, the lyrics sound like they may have been under the influence of something when it was written (and given BJ's breakdown at the IHeartRadio show, maybe they were) but I won't hold it against the song because at least it's not repetitive or childish like several other songs in the trilogy. Songs like, oh, let's say "Make Out Party". Seriously guys, you're all either 40 or close enough. You still wanna go to make out parties and play games like spin the bottle or 7 minutes in heaven? Despite being married? Who knows, maybe I'll feel the same way when I reach 40, but it just sounds absurd coming from Green Day.
The albums first single, "Stray Heart", is a good one. Fast paced and upbeat, the song has a tendency to get stuck in your head after hearing it. There's nothing wrong with that though. The tempo stays fast with "Ashley", one of several songs simply titled with a girls first name on the trilogy, but this one is more memorable than most of the others. "Baby Eyes" is very catchy and highly enjoyable, my only complaint is that it's so short! Not even 2 and a half minutes! I know Green Day got famous busting out songs that long but I guess I've just been spoiled by masterpieces such as "Jesus of Suburbia" or "Homecoming". "Lady Cobra" is another short song, but solid enough, despite it's strange lyrics. Tracks 7-10 on this album are all very solid and that stretch is probably the highlight, sans "Lazy Bones". But after track 10, oh boy, brace yourselves.
"Nightlife" is horrible. Simply atrocious. This doesn't even sound like a Green Day song. The lyrics are laughably bad, the "rapping" if you could even call it that makes Vanilla Ice sound too legit to quit, and the song is just an uninspired mess. I literally gave my car CD player a WTF look throughout this entire song the first time I heard it. I couldn't believe my ears, it's just so bad. "Wow, that's loud!" isn't much better. The guitar riff is catchy, but the lyrics are once again poor and the song is largely a waste of time. The album does however close on a solid note, with the tribute song to the late Amy Winehouse, titled "Amy". Very beautifully written, this song is a perfect choice for album closer, and is a welcomed change of pace from the rest of the album as well as a nice tribute to Amy. I almost thought this was a cover of an oldies song at first, it sounded really familiar, but after some research realized it's not and Green Day really hits this one out of the park.
Overall, Dos! is slightly worse than Uno!. It's way more inconsistent, the bad tracks are much worse than Uno's bad tracks, and aside from Lazy Bones the good ones aren't nearly as good. After hearing these two albums, I almost lost all hope for Tre! to be anywhere near decent. But, maybe, just maybe, Green Day was saving the best for last???
