“This is the most Green Day de Green Day” commented one of their press agents before we interviewed the band. It is? In a year full of symbolism and anniversaries, “Saviors” picks up the baton of a career that spans three decades. That at the controls of the production is Rob Cavallo, friend of the band and partially responsible for the success of “Dookie” y “American Idiot”, reinforces that idea and the echoes of both works are evident. Forty-six minutes in which Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool sharpen the knives of social commentary again, after several albums in which they deliberately distanced themselves from political criticism and at a time when it could be more necessary than ever, with Trump embodying the worst of the values of an idiotic society. About letters – some more complex than others – fast and without any big fuss (“Feeling like a rat lab / strange days are here again”, “I’ll see you later when I get my shit together”), the long shadow of anxiety spreads (“Dilemma”), fear of the future, consent and nostalgia (“Corvette Summer”), to name some of the themes that appear in these fifteen cuts.
It is inevitable that layers of experience, tools and great production are added to an old school punk attitude at their disposal. Of course, in general they are much more direct, catchy songs – like “One Eyed Bastard”, to name one – and effective than in his previous works since “American Idiot”. This is demonstrated by the initial singles or songs like “Bobby Sox”, with echoes to The Presidents Of The United States Of America or the Californian skate punk and sunny de “1981”. In this particular roller coaster of emotions, melodies and social commentary, influences appear that are distant or not from the bombast of The Who, some nods to eighties track-breakers and even mid-tempo songs like “Father To A Son”something like the “Wake Me Up When September Ends” of this album. Also “Goodnight Adeline”, easy in approach, somewhat artificial and perhaps designed to be chanted in large stadiums. And they open a little more the range of influences and sounds in “Suzie Chapstick” y “Corvette Summer”.
The Californian trio already says it: “everybody is famous, stupid and contagious” and although we will all die one day (so the lyrics continue) there is no reason not to enjoy contagious themes that will take some back to a nineties adolescence and perhaps others will have their moment of redemption with “Saviors”.