Green Day - Saviors Review

Despite some catchy moments, the album feels shockingly uninspired, a letdown from a band capable of so much more.

30 years on from the acclaimed and genuinely pretty cool Dookie and 20 years from their major breakthrough mainstream rock-opera opus American Idiot, Green Day return with the final instalment in this trilogy titled Saviors. Their latest album is a return to the political, but loses the edge and originality of its predecessors, often times feeling like a self parody, with grating riffs that are at best rip offs and at worst shamelessly ruining the bands legacy.

Like American Idiot, Saviors has something to say about the state of modern America. The album opens to ‘The American Dream is Killing Me’ which has a patriotic musicality to it. The point they’re trying to make lyrically doesn’t hit that hard, however hard Billie Joe Armstrong strenuously shouts them at you. This is just one of many moments where you think, “Haven’t they already done this but far, far better?”

The whole album is jam packed with overdriven production, which is welcome and certainly suits Green Day songs, but often times feels like a cheap caricature of their classics. ‘Look Ma, No Brains!’ lyrically speaks to the same mindlessness of the American public that ‘American Idiot’ does but without the immediacy and offensiveness. This is yet another paint by numbers Green Day song that just re-treads old ground and never brings anything interesting or new to the table, both lyrically and musically.

"Bobby Sox" stands out as a more thoughtful track, exploring Billie Joe Armstrong's bisexuality. While the theme has potential for deeper exploration, the song falls short, settling for predictable riffing and simplistic sentiments. Whether intentional or not the following track ‘One Eyed Bastard’ is a basic rip off of Pink’s ‘So What’. Pink’s lawyers better get on it because there’s an opportunity to make some sweet, sweet cash here. Though this track is an obvious rip off, there’s actually some pretty catchy moments on the verses but the “Badabing badabooms” chorus is shockingly bad to say the least. It’s genuinely awful. C’mon Green Day you’re so much better than this.

‘Dilemma’ almost feels like something but, it’s incredibly on the nose with it’s “I don’t wanna be a dead man walking”.. yeah no shit Armstrong – who does?

‘Goodnight Adeline’ is a relatively tender moment on the record, the verses are littered with cute vocals and acoustic guitars, which tend to be a strong place for Armstrong to be, the chorus is sadly lacklustre and forgettable but is far less parody-ridden than the tracks that came before it. This track actually does have something good going for it compared to others on the record but is ruined by quite a basic chorus. Long gone are the genuinely quite gorgeous melodies and arrangements of songs like “Jesus of Suburbia” or “Wake Me Up When September Ends”.

The album closes with ‘Fancy Sauce’ which by this point, if you haven’t blown your brains out then lucky you. Unfortunately, this song like many of the songs just doesn’t have anything particularly interesting going for it. Considering it’s the last song on the record, it’s certainly a dull way to end the record. There are some nice guitar parts on this track though; they just don’t particularly suit Armstrong’s vocals. Lyrically, Armstrong harks back to themes of disillusionment with modern America that are prevalent on the album but like many of the songs on this album, they don’t say anything important or anything that hasn’t been said before, in a more poignant way, 20 years ago.

Saviors leaves fans grappling with conflicting emotions - a desire to appreciate Green Day's longevity and an acknowledgment of their struggle to break free from the shackles of past glory. While the overdriven production is a necessary evil, the album falls short in delivering fresh perspectives, leaving listeners yearning for the genuine, emotionally charged melodies that defined the band's earlier masterpieces. The question remains: Is Saviors a heartfelt attempt at relevance, or does it risk tarnishing Green Day's legacy? Probably the latter.