I started work in 1994. With my first month’s wages, I bought “Dookie” by Green Day and a football ticket for a game away at Notts County. Over the 30 years, I know which has given me more pleasure: the band or my football team. But I’ve never seen them live. On that point, have you tried to buy a ticket for Green Day’s shows in London? My god! Four of you could go if you sold a kidney on the dark web. Who thought the band that once told you that masturbation had lost its fun would be expecting you to toss off a couple of hundred quid to see them?
But that’s Green Day 2024. They are a stadium rock band, charging the prices befitting one of the biggest bands in the world, and make no mistake, “Saviors” is a stadium rock record. Everything it does encapsulates what you might call the modern Green Day signature sound. “The American Dream Is Killing Me” embodies this essence perfectly, unmistakably them but possibly more world-weary.
“Look Ma, No Brains” is just as punk should be—so catchy they should vaccinate for it. “Bobby Sox” delivers a ballad with a power pop sweetness.
“One Eyed Bastard” gets tougher, but when it opens up, no one does harmony like these boys, let’s be honest. Indeed, there’s a real case for saying that Green Day might be the masters of the three-minute song these days. “Dilemma” stands as proof.
Everywhere “Saviours” goes, there’s a proper banger. “1981” teaches Foo Fighters how to do it right, “Goodnight Adeline” is designed for stadiums, while “Coma City” is brimming with harmonies and biting lyrics.
But let’s argue the toss, there’s one that stands above all others here: “Corvette Summer” is Green Day 2024 done perfectly. “Fuck it up on my rock n roll,” sings Billy Joe Armstrong, with blue-collar confidence.
Everything here is polished too. “Suzie Chapstick” leans more towards the likes of the Dandy Warhols than the Ramones, but who cares? Why aren’t bands allowed to evolve? Like I love AC/DC, but who really wants to watch Angus pissing about in his School Uniform this July?
This is one of those “Blue Collar” records, reminiscent of Springsteen, chunky riffs, and bombast. “Living In The 20s” proves that, yet it’s also capable of real tenderness. “Father To A Son” is beautifully string-laden, and really, this is the time of their lives (see what I did there?).
Fists are back up in the air for the title cut, and the album’s length (at least in terms of the number of tracks) is evident in the ending ballad “Fancy Sauce” (over four minutes is prog rock, really? – albeit it is set in a mental hospital…).
It says much for the modern world that much of the debate around the record – including a massive splash in People Magazine – is about Billy Joe’s sexuality. None of our business, and we’d rather focus on the music, which shows, basically that Green Day have morphed into an astonishingly good stadium rock band. “Saviors” they aren’t – because punk doesn’t need saving, but they are brilliant all the same.
Rating: 9/10
REVIEW: GREEN DAY – SAVIORS
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