Since the release of American Idiot in 2004, Green Day have made their song writing very topical, focusing on personal frustration with their country’s political system and society. It’s been a fair while since we’ve heard a song relating to youth-like pleasures, explored almost to the tenth degree in the 90s. Uno! is clearly a sign of the band wanting to go back to their roots and exploring much more simplistic and relatable subjects, such as loneliness, love, sex and generally turning your back on people and things that anger you to the very core. While a couple of songs on the album just about manage to bring back that dangerous sound, most tracks just don’t cut it and some show Billie Joe’s rage-filled lyrics to be quite forced. “Let Yourself Go” is a prime example where it is infectiously catchy in places, especially during the chorus, but the screaming technique Billie Joe uses is not particularly appealing and highlights the struggle the band has going back down the 90s road with this release.
More annoyance is portrayed in “Kill the DJ,” which features a very cool dance-style groove, and “Loss of Control,” which shows the bands tight instrumental ability, but both achievements are really overshadowed by the lyrical inability to grip the listener which Green Day often did so brilliantly on records past. Not all tracks fall short of their purpose though. There are a few gems that involve some extremely attractive hooks and styles that we haven’t heard for a long time. “Nuclear Family” is an absolute firework of a start to kick off an album and is undoubtedly one of the best songs on Uno!. The riffs are very reminiscent of songs like “Welcome to Paradise” and “Nice Guys Finish Last.” Other stand out tracks include “Troublemaker” with its slick and sexy vibe, “Carpe Diem” and “Oh Love.” The later tracks are both brilliantly simple yet transfixing, showing off what Green Day are and have always been best at over the years – effortless immaculate songwriting. Unfortunately, Uno! is more than just one step from the standards Green Day fans have come to expect.
Commendations
Despite Billie Joe, Mike and Tre not quite making the grade in terms of getting their real message across at points, Uno! as a whole is a very well-produced album with a tight and polished sound. There are a number of enjoyable tracks with a lot of attractive melodies with crisp guitar and bass riffs. Uno! proves promising in showing that the teenage edginess and rebellious attitude that Green Day had back in the 90s hasn’t gone and they can still write brilliantly relatable tracks while engaging in personal and societal ones. Furthermore, whether the styles appeal to you or not, it’s great to hear new musical directions the band has gone for, such as the noted new sounds of “Kill the DJ” and “Troublemaker.”Next Steps
Although there are many pros that can come from an album sounding crisply produced and polished, it can be said that their attempt to return to their roots would have been helped by having some songs a bit less glossed over in order to bring back that garage band jam sound. Green Day would truly benefit from a bit more natural angst and emotion lyrically, as well as revisiting styles that featured colorful instrumentation on tracks like “King for a Day.” This album will disappoint many. One can only hope some of these omissions will appear in Dos! and Tres!.First published by www.puluche.com
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