Hello! 😊👋
Welcome to a new edition of the Daily Music Picks newsletter!
Today’s music pick is the latest from the East Bay punk rockers, the group’s best since American Idiot.
Genre: Punk Rock, Alternative
Label: Reprise
Release Date: January 19, 2024
Vibe: 🤘🤘
My immediate question after hearing Saviors for the first time was, “Why now?”
The LP, easily their best, most ferocious release since American Idiot (which, perhaps not coincidentally, turns 20 later this year), materialized seemingly out of nowhere. Track after track, I kept thinking in amazement that, yes, this was the same group responsible for the likes of 21st Century Breakdown and Revolution Radio, records that, to put it mildly, were disappointments. Somehow, they managed to get their groove back with this one. Call it the residual burnout of a Trump presidency and a global pandemic, an opportunistic play to re-insert their voice into an election year sure to be fraught with nauseating political discourse, or an existential “We’re not dead yet” salvo to the universe. Whatever the in-point(s), it feels exciting to have this version of Green Day back in the saddle.
They don’t waste any time cutting to the quick, either. Opener “The American Dream is Killing Me” makes it clear Billie Joe Armstrong’s opinion on how the US treats its own hasn’t softened one iota since Idiot. It contains vivid bursts of energy, like in his bridge: “Don't want no huddled masses/TikTok and taxes/Under the overpass/Sleepin' in broken glass.” Other highlights include the catchy “Look Ma, No Brains,” the blistering title track, and the nihilistic “Strange Days Are Here to Stay,” which doesn’t exactly paint an optimistic picture of America’s prospects moving forward. The group takes aim at well-known institutions, including (but not limited to) law enforcement, with biting lines like, “Well, this is how the world will end/When superheroes play pretend.”
I’m hesitant to call Green Day an acquired taste—their sustained commercial success is proof otherwise. However, I’m old enough to remember how divisive Idiot was when it debuted. The overt protest songs went a bridge too far for some fans, and Saviors will likely fall into the same camp. Regardless of mileages varying due to the subject matter, this LP is an early candidate for 2024’s most pleasant surprise.
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