Review Summary: Although Green Day are way past their prime, it's still nice to see that they still have the energy and spirit that they did 20 years ago.
The trilogy often gets ragged on by a lot of people, many of them people who used to be big Green Day fans themselves. While
iUNO! wasn't that good of an album, the other two were decent in their own right and provided fanboys like me with some temporary hope that maybe, maybe they had some life left in them. Even though
iTRE! was a great conclusion to the trilogy, it shouldn't be the album that Green Day go out on, especially when they have the potential to do so much better. Looking through this site's ratings for it,
iDOS! seems to be the album that people hate the most, which puzzles me. In my mind,
iUNO! should be the record with the 2.2 average - overproduction, lazy lyrics and generic songwriting plagued the band's poppiest album to date.
iDOS! was billed as the "garage rock" album of the trilogy, and it definitely lives up to that name. Tracks like "Stop When the Red Lights Flash" or "Stray Heart" wouldn't sound out of place on a Foxboro Hot Tubs record. It definitely has a grittier and darker feel than
iUNO! or even
iTRE!, both of which contain their fair share of cringeworthy pop moments. If anything,
DOS! might get the slight edge because it's not as poppy as the rest. The riffs are rather basic, there's nothing special, but they're played more furiously than on any other record in the trio. "Ashley" is vintage Green Day, because I really enjoy Billie's sneering vocal performance on it. Delivered with anger and even a hint of snideness, it's energetic and upbeat, just like classic songs "When I Come Around" and "Letterbomb". The same applies to "Makeout Party" and "Lady Cobra" - its riffs combined with Billie's vocals make it a very enjoyable faux-Green Day experience. Even though "F
uck Time" is hilariously bad, it's still got the energy despite its godawful lyrics.
iDOS! isn't a perfect album though, not even close. For starters, "Nightlife" is the worst song they've ever written, while rapper Lady Cobra's attempts at raising dicks fails utterly. "Wild One" is boring and contrived, it wouldn't seem out of place on a Matchbox Twenty or Goo Goo Dolls album. Mid-paced zzzers never work, especially for Green Day. Perhaps the worst thing about this album is that lyrically, it's an embarrassment. From the juvenile ode to kinky sex that is "F
uck Time" to "Makeout Party"'s stupid lines about playing teenage party games, it's clear that Armstrong was not sober during the recording process. To belittle the process, I've collected every single line on the album that made me cringe.
"Dirty thoughts and a dirty mind / Ooh, baby, it's fuck time" - F
uck Time
"She gave up on Jesus for living on Venus... drinking the Kool-Aid, I jumped on the grenade" - Wild One
"Do you wanna spin the bottle, play a game of chicken? Well, I'm just gonna kiss you til your lips are bleeding. Truth or dare!" - Makeout Party
"Do you wanna play a game of twister like a dirty old man with a babysitter?" - Lady Cobra
Hope there's more in your pants than a bus route, feelin your sugar coated balls" - Nightlife
Wow, that dirty dress is so loud! - Wow! That's Loud
These lyrics aren't even delivered with the snide, teenage brash that sang about jerking off Billie's willie or smoking pot all day. These are the insane ramblings of a drugged-up alcoholic who legitimately thinks it's acceptible to say this at age 40. Goddamn it. At least there aren't any pedophilia references... that'll be saved for iTRE!
Overall,
iDOS! definitely proves itself to be more than a 2.2. Although Green Day are way past their prime, it's still nice to see that they still have the energy and spirit that they did 20 years ago. Musically, it can be a bit generic, but no one's looking for anything innovative. It's a fun little ditty, meant for fanboys like me who truly love most of the band's work. Although the demos may give it the more garage rock feel it wants, the album's dip into a different genre adds more flavor and substance, which as missing from their last two albums.
