It has been four years since the California Punk/Alternative rock band released an album and on October 7th, their newest album, “Revolution Radio” was set loose upon the world. I was more than a little excited about getting a new album from the band since the last three albums (Uno, Dos, and Tre) had been more that a letdown for me. I had listened to the three singles that they released the few weeks before the album’s debut and the sound and lyrics harkened back to “American Idiot”, the band’s rock opera released in 2004 with a mix of new drum fills and guitar licks that bring “Revolution Radio” to life.
The title track, which is the third song on the album, gives off a kind of unsettled air towards the age of the Internet with the lines, “Rise of the slums to the obsolete/ The dawn of the new airwaves/ For the anti-social media” which slaps the audience in the face of the effect that social media has on society as a whole. It could easily be interpreted that social media has made us as a society less social just because we are always on the computer or our phones. We are so focused on how many “likes” or “retweets” our photos get that we’re not focused on the beauty of the actual picture or we share pictures that are unique and precious just because we live in glass houses due to our “always online” lives. But that’s only my interpretation. The guitar solos show off the newest official member of the band, Jason White, as lead guitarist mix both old and new sounds to create something unique to the band. My personal favorite song on the album “Still Breathing” sounds like an addict’s anthem which gives a personal feel for the frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, who fought alcoholism and had to cancel the last tour because of it. He has since gone through rehab, written a beautiful album and starred in a movie that shares the same name as the last song on the album, “Ordinary World”
As a whole, the album is a wonderful addition to Green Day’s discography. It is both an old sound and a new sound which shows how the band has evolved throughout the changing world. The album is less pop than the trilogy of “Uno” “Dos” and “Tre”, but not as punk as “Dookie” or “American Idiot” which is ok. It is good for a band to grow and not focus too much on the past hit albums that made them famous. If I had to rate this album, I’d definitely say this is my third favorite album they’ve ever released only behind “Dookie” which exploded them on the scene and “American Idiot” which was my first album of theirs that I ever listened to and is still a personal favorite of mine today. Give it a listen and enjoy the new music!
