Despite !UNO!, !DOS!, and !TRÉ! having all the musical intrigue of three albums filled solely of filler music, I’ve given Green Day a massive hall pass due to their catalog of undeniable essential listening. After hearing these first two singles from their upcoming album, I’m not rescinding the hall pass, but I’m certainly putting the band on the hot seat. The biggest problem for me with these two singles are the fact that they sound like they took a Portugal. The Man song; the double time beat, lo-fi production, and falsetto vocals are abundant.
These singles could be a lot worse. They’ve given me a wait-and-see attitude for the new album and haven’t made me completely pessimistic. I applaud Billie Joe for pushing his vocal range with both songs, the bells and whistles also give it a fun faux-60s atmosphere (piano octaves, distorted vocals, etc). After a couple of listens, I officially don’t hate the songs nearly as much as people like The Needle Drop’s Antony Fantano does via his YouTube Channel (he posted a video review on the singles titled “Not Good”). The pros exist just like the cons.
While these new songs have been released by Green Day, it seems like over-exaggeration to claim these songs as works by Green Day. While these new songs showcase a different side of Green Day which may make fans worry about what else will come from the album, their last few albums have taught us there’s usually one good track on each release.
Frankly, that’s all we need to ask for from Green Day at this point in their career. Give them a break, but do keep the hot seat on them.
RATING: 6.5
Written by Gabe Straight