Three years in the making and 71 minutes long, punk heroes Green Day return with another concept album to rival their last, American Idiot. The intervening years have seen several punk bands trying to imitate their sound and style, making it much harder for us to take them seriously. This is a shame, as Green Day really know their punk. They’ve given iconic songs to a generation, and now they’re back with their latest effort, 21st Century Breakdown.
The band split the album into three acts Heroes and Cons, Charlatans and Saints, and Horseshoes and Hand Grenades. It's loosely based around a young couple, Gloria and Christian, and their trials and tribulations in the modern age. Musically it's business as usual, taking the punk template and stretching it into stadium size songs.
One of the key songs on the album shows up in act one, ‘!Viva La Gloria!’. After the heartfelt opening bars of piano, we're jolted into glorious, raw punk. A great song to add to the others that make this album so great.
Another of the songs that really sticks out is ‘21 Guns’. Here’s a true stand-out, a stick-in-your-head, mid-tempo anthem that establishes Armstrong as a major vocalist. Oh, you think he did that already on Time Of Your Life? That was singing, sure, but here he digs down deep. A fantastic track.
Massive hype greeted the album, and though it can’t possibly live up to it all, it’s impressive just how strong it is. The plight of Christian and Gloria may be a bit dark, and you may not care what Armstrong has to say about the world around him, but 21st Century Breakdown succeeds where it needs to. It sounds amazing, and re-establishes Green Day at the forefront of the modern punk revival.
Scores (out of 10)
Lyrics-6
Vocals-8Instrumentals-7
Album Arrangment-7Overall-7
Favourite Track-21 Guns
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