Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown
Reprise Records

Rating:  

I saw Green Day on Fuse saying they wanted to make adult music and although politically charged 21st Century Breakdown just continues the teen angst vibe of American Idiot.  The lyrics aren’t catchy and the songs are croonier.  I caught myself dozing off and finally had to pull up the lyrics to pay attention.   The trio wasn’t as engaging as in previous efforts and this time around I didn’t care what they had to say.   The album appears to be tackling war, religion, politics and dare I say “authority”.  It appears that St. Jimmy has left the building and a new character named Christian has come into play. Christian isn’t angry, but more remorseful about his surroundings. This album felt rushed and unloved, but did pick up some towards the end.

The tunes that caught my ear were Last of American Girls, Murder City (should be the next track released and fast!) and The Static Age. Murder City was catchy, neck moving and made me sway, but after reading the lyrics it made me feel bad for liking it.   It was by far my favorite song off the entire album of 18 tracks.

I love Green Day and it pains me to give them such a low score of 5 out of 10.  The album wasn’t fantastic, but it didn’t blow balls either.  If it wasn’t for Murder City, I’m sure the score would be lower.

I can’t really put my thumb on which bands are similar to Green Day, but if I had to, I would suggest Blink 182, Foo Fighters and The Offspring.

Overall, even if you’re a staunch fan of Green Day this album may not appeal to you.