Green Day - 'Revolution Radio' (Album Review)

It seems this has been the year for big, influential pop/punk bands to release albums. Blink-182 and Descendents released albums in July and now we are in October and Green Day has released their new album, Revolution Radio. Coming off their trilogy of albums Uno! Dos! Tre! I was really interested to hear this one. Green Day has been a long time favorite of mine for a lot of years. Admittedly, though, the trilogy album set seemed like a misfire when all was said and done. I had high expectations for this new album and I was crossing my fingers. After a few listens, for me, it is clear that the time between the trilogy and now has caused the band to sharpen their songwriting quite a bit compared to the trilogy. The trilogy of albums had its share of good songs, but some felt forced and others felt like they just weren't up to par with previous Green Day releases. Revolution Radio is twelve songs that merge together some of the ideas of the trilogy of albums while mixing in some vibes from American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown in a pretty successful way.

"Somewhere Now" kicks off the album. I really like this song as an opener. It has nice energy and whimsical, almost 60s era sounding guitar riffs that open the song, as well as in a part or two here and there, that remind me of that era. Billie Joe comes across pretty strong on the song and the guitars sound nice. The lead single "Bang Bang" has Billie Joe taking on some controversial view points. It's an aggressive song and I like it, overall. However, I can't help but to think that this was a poor single choice. It's a nice injection of energy, but it just didn't land as hard as I would have liked as a single. "Youngblood" is one of my favorites, if not my favorite, from the album. I like the guitar riff. The lyrics and vocals feel a lot more like classic Green Day. The way Billie Joe sings on the song sounds pretty youthful and harkens back to the Warning era of Green Day. For me this would have been the best single choice. The folk infused closer "Ordinary World" showcases Billie Joe's vocals nicely and I like the lyrics, as well. If you consider"Time Of Your Life" Green Day's acoustic youth punk song then "Ordinary World" is its adult counterpart.

One of the big things with this album that I like, (but I can see why it might cause some people to call the album a bit of a regression compared to their work from American Idiot to now) is that this album really doesn't really have a grandiose narrative around it. It's not a punk opera like American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown. It also doesn't come in the form of a massive project like the trilogy. Like I mentioned above this is just a 12-song punk rock album. It does have influences from some of these grandiose ideas as well as just having some influences from the band's earlier material. I come out feeling like the nature of the album is a positive. If you've ever been a fan of Green Day you're getting something for you with this album. I think you'll either enjoy all of it or come away with a handful of solid songs.

Overall, I honestly think this is probably the best Green Day album since American Idiot. It isn't better than that album and it doesn't conquer the greatness of the classic albums like Dookie and Nimrod. However, it does breathe a fresh breath of new life into the band. The songs have a maturity sound wise and style wise that fits. Billie Joe's vocals sound as good as they always have. At times he throws almost some Americana sounding twang into them. The band isn't really trying anything all that new, but they are delivering a solid batch of songs. The album is concise, focused, well produced and I think it succeeds more than it doesn't. Those three points were a major reason that the trilogy just didn't succeed like I think the band would have hoped it had. It's nice to see them refocused and ready to go on this album. I'm enjoying this and I think if you've been a little lukewarm on Green Day's past few releases then this might pump you up. It is the most complete that the band has sounded in a long time. I'm enjoying Revolution Radio quite a bit and I think it is definitely worth checking out.