Green Day’s newest album “Saviors” is a return to form, akin to their classic albums such as “American Idiot” and “Dookie,” while taking a critical look at today’s society.

My only exposure to this album was when the band played “Dilemma” live on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. I remember liking the song, but I didn’t go into this with many expectations.

I was knocked out of the park with the leading track “The American Dream is Killing Me” with its fun guitar riffs and catchy vocals. The next few tracks keep this energy and it isn’t until “Goodnight Adeline” that the album slows down and takes a breather for a bit, before picking up the pace again as the album closes out. 

Despite its overall fun sound, “Saviors” is a bleak album. While Green Day’s subject matter tends to be on the darker side, this album has depressing song after depressing song with little reprieve. It tackles topics such as substance abuse, homelessness, social media addiction and overall despair about the state of the world. 

“Living in the ‘20s” leads with “Another shooting in a supermarket / I spent my money on a bloody, soft target,” and “Coma City” discusses living with gun violence and climate change in a society that doesn’t seem to care about it. Instead, people shut out what’s happening and remain blissfully ignorant. 

“Strange Days Are Here to Stay” might be the darkest song on the album, with lines such as “Grandma’s on the fentanyl now,” “Jesus gonna quit his job,” and “Well, this is how the world will end / when superheroes play pretend.” It is a song about how the world seems to be collapsing all around us, yet our most pressing concerns are our Uber drivers running late and losing our sense of humor. 

The album does have its moments of hope, with “Bobby Sox” being a song about embracing yourself for who you are and “Father to a Son” being about a father discussing both his fear and excitement regarding fatherhood. It is a sweet, intimate song, having one of my favorite lines of the album: “I never knew a love / could be scarier than anger.”  

Despite the hopelessness of “Saviors,” it still finds ways to insert cheeky references and have a bit of fun where it can. The line “I got a buzz like a murder hornet” got a chuckle out of me the first time I heard it and the song “Look Ma, No Brains!” uses self-deprecating humor to the fullest, where the protagonist sings about how much of a loser they are. 

That being said, many of the songs have rather repetitive lyrics. This is most noticeable in “Bobby Sox” where lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong keeps singing “Do you want to be my girlfriend? / Do you want to be my boyfriend?” as the vocals become increasingly fried. I love fried vocals, but this gets old without any lyrical variety.

Additionally, the entire album sounds a bit too similar, so much so that on my first listen I became fatigued with the sound when approaching the back half of the track listings. It has a few standouts, with “Corvette Summer” sounding more like what I would call “dad rock,” but a little more variety besides adding in a few slower songs here and there would have helped dramatically. 

However, this is still an excellently produced album. Rob Cavallo worked as the producer for “Saviors” as well as Green Day’s platinum-selling albums “Dookie,” “Insomniac,” “Nimrod,” “American Idiot,” and “Bullet in a Bible,” giving it the sound of Green Day at their peak.

Every time a sick guitar solo comes in, it sounds clean and unique. The drums aren’t faded into the background and the vocals, while clear, don’t overpower the instrumentals. 

The previously mentioned vocal fry, while overdone on “Bobby Sox” is masterfully used throughout the rest of the album, with it being the most powerful on “Dilemma” where Armstrong uses it on the line “I don’t wanna be a dead man walking,” about wanting to overcome alcohol addiction.

“Saviors” is a must-listen for both new and old Green Day fans and will bring something to the table anyone can enjoy. Whether you want to listen to a critique of today’s society, or just want to rock out for 45 minutes, “Saviors” will deliver both and leave the listener wanting more.

Official Score: 8/10

Categories: Arts & Entertainment