⭐ Featured RateYourMusic Review
The discourse surrounding pop-punk band Green Day in online circles is divisive to say the least. They have plenty of skeptics and fans of all kinds. Whether it be online music fans who are convinced they will never be as good as they were in the 1990s, Gen X individuals who love almost everything they release, or everything in between, the discourse is all over the place. I personally love Green Day but believe on an album basis they have been hit or miss since 2012, with the hits being some of my favorite material they have released. After the discourse surrounding their most recent album prior to this year, Father Of All…, I had no idea what to expect from their newest album Saviors. I did not hate Father Of All… but I will say Saviors feels like Green Day are more in their element. Much of the charm of albums like Dookie and Revolution Radio is back in full swing. With very authentic writing, catchy choruses, and the most consistently full sounding instrumentals the band has had since 21st Century Breakdown, I believe Saviors is a success overall. Despite a couple of bumps in the road, the ride is a fun, replayable time.
The aptly titled The American Dream Is Killing Me is a painting of modern American life, which is not new for Green Day by any stretch but it has not been this much of a focus for them for a while. With that in mind, it is interesting to see how a band who has tackled societal commentary well before would do it in such a rapidly changing, technological age. Despite some cheesy lines like “TikTok and taxes” I believe it is handled well here. “Sleeping in broken glass” almost immediately follows the TikTok line, and most of the lines do a good job of projecting the band’s vision of the US in the 2020s. Instrumentally it has the punk energy of older Green Day with the incredible bass and fairly chunky guitars throughout. Of course Tré Cool keeps the rhythm well and provides some cool drum leads to the chorus. Even if I do not love the track I believe it is another nice addition to Green Day’s catalog of sociopolitical anthems.
There are a few of those socio political tracks on the album in addition to the opener, such as the more light hearted Living In The ‘20s which contains the line “I got a robot and I’m fucking it senseless”. The line is delivered with enough conviction to where it made me chuckle instead of cringe thankfully. Living In The ‘20s is Green Day observing the wacky age we live in. Murder hornets and shootings are thrown out there, and again, it should not work as well as it does, but I enjoy the tongue and cheek nature on display. The track has a catchy riff to tie the rest of the instrumentation together, with a noisy solo on the bridge that is just lovely. Billie even screams at the end and it makes me imagine the chaos of how rough the current age is. Still, it’s easy to tell the band had fun making this one, and that is where many of the strengths of the album lie; with just how fun it is.
From the moment I listened to Saviors in full I knew Bobby Sox would be a favorite of mine, and that prediction panned out. It is a sugary sweet love song with a fun, bisexual twist. The first verse and chorus have Billie asking a woman “do you wanna be my girlfriend?” and bringing up the various things they might do on a date together. It is not the most specific set of activities but it does not need to be. Again, it is sweet (almost too much so), but I could see myself using this song to ask someone out. Whether that person be a woman, man or anyone in between. Speaking of which, when Billie first said “do you wanna be my boyfriend?” on the track I did feel a good bit of joy. I am proud of who I am and I am glad to live in an era where Billie can be too. The song continues in a similar manner but it is too cute and fun not to enjoy. Plus with how much the chorus ramps up the guitar and drum work, this is easily a favorite on the album. Yet I do not enjoy it quite as much as One Eyed Bastard, which I genuinely believe is my favorite track on Saviors. The opening riff sounds like a heavier version of popstar P!nk’s So What?. This does not bother me because the band builds on it well. Not to mention this is one of their catchiest songs to date. I caught myself signing “BADDA BANG BADDA BANG BADDA BOOM” by the end of the song when I first heard it. I also enjoyed the swift chugging on the bridge. It made the hype for the final chorus so easy to enjoy. Overall, the track was so much fun from beginning to end.
On Saviors there are sociopolitical anthems and there are generally fun tracks as discussed, but there are also some more introspective, personal moments as well, the first of which being Dilemma. This one is about Billy’s struggles with alcoholism and it is powerful. It starts with the lyric “Welcome to my problems” and eventually spirals into “I don’t wanna be a dead man walking”. It starts off slow with Billie contextualizing his issues, then showing how distraught he is by them in the heavier and noisier chorus. I believe it could have been slightly noisier to represent the chaos in his mind even better but I love what it’s going for. I would argue Dilemma is powerful both lyrically and sonically. The track Father To A Son would also fit this bill for me. This one is an acoustic ballad about Billie’s dad. Oddly enough I believe Green Day are hit or miss with ballads, but this one hits hard. A relationship between a parent and child of any kind is complicated and this track represents this notion well. Almost every line on this song is poetic to some degree. Some examples include, “I never knew a love could be scarier than anger” and “you’re a lighthouse in a storm from the day that you were born”. This track reads more like a poem than an actual song for me. It has quotables that touch on the same theme; that parenthood is complicated and unpredictable. The singing on this track also sounds so genuine as well. Billie sounds like he could tear up at any minute in the verses. Of course the chord progression fits the emotional vocals quite well. Honestly, this is a near flawless track.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, I will mention the only track I did not like to at least some degree was Corvette Summer. The main riff is fine but the rest of the sound of the song is rather static. Billie sounds a tad disinterested and really is not saying much of substance, preferring to just coast across the song throughout. Plus it is not as dynamic or interesting as the rest of the album instrumentally, so the fun it is aiming for just did not resonate with me. With that said the closer, Fancy Sauce, takes most of the album’s strengths and combines them into one. Billie dives into his mental health and sings from the perspective of a mental patient. It goes into societal commentary a tad with the line “medicate my sorrow”, as well as Billie calling the news his “favorite cartoon” which made me chuckle. Even the “everybody’s famous” line could be a nod on being a micro celebrity. Despite the heavy subject matter, this track even has melodies as infectious as the more light hearted tracks. “Go go falling like a yo-yo” is going to stick in my mind for at least months to come. With the focus on the album’s main themes and the powerful sound of the songs, Fancy Sauce is a perfect closer for Saviors and I feel like it will only grow on me even more with subsequent listens.
Saviors is far from a perfect album. The song structures can show their repetition (particularly in the second half), the writing can be cheesy, and the instrumentation can be static, but these issues are few and far between (and mostly condensed into Corvette Summer). For the most part, I believe Saviors is an interesting, fun and genuine album from a band that has a special place in my life. I hope Green Day continues to improve in the future and perhaps even gain the respect of the online skeptics who have continually doubted them. It definitely made me more interested in Green Day than I have been for almost a decade, and for that I consider it a success
8/10
