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Album Review: Green Day gives us best of both worlds

Green Day, known for its driving punk rock albums and soaring rock opera concepts, has released its comeback album “Revolution Radio,” the group’s first release since 2014’s triple-release of “Uno! Dos! Tre!”

That experimental trio of albums was not well-received by critics due to its lack of musical direction, and the impression that it was an attempt to recreate the band’s “Dookie”-era punk sound that was more energetic, with less focus on songwriting.

The band agreed, saying that they were “being prolific for the sake of being prolific” with “Uno! Dos! Tre!” With this release, Green Day has cleaned up its act.

The first song off the album, “Somewhere Now,” introduces the main focus of the album’s music — a blend of Green Day’s punk rock roots with the driving melodies that earned them legendary acclaim with “American Idiot.”

The acoustic opening verse and well-executed song structure thereafter shows the band created this album with a clear message and direction.

“Bang Bang,” the album’s main single, kicks the album into high gear, with the youthful energy Green Day was known for in the ‘90s along with the mature songwriting and memorable bridges they developed later in their career. Songs like “Say Goodbye” and “Outlaws” resemble the slower tracks off “21st Century Breakdown,” with the dissonant melodies from Green Day’s early days.

“Still Bleeding” is very much the black sheep of the songs on “Revolution Radio.” Its structure doesn’t resemble many things Green Day has done in the past. It begins with an opening verse similar to other more pop-driven rock bands. The structure is more accessible than all the songs on the album, almost as if it was created as a radio single to entice listeners from other genres.

Songs like “Too Dumb to Die” and the title track are constructed in Green Day’s signature punk rock style, allowing anyone familiar with their music to recognize the sound and think, “Yep, that’s Green Day all right.”

The album was produced with a skeleton crew, essentially consisting of the band for instrumentation and production, with veteran engineer Chris Dugan. Of Green Day’s post-“American Idiot” releases, “Revolution Radio” boasts the smallest group of production personnel. The album reflects that minimal outside involvement as it feels like the songs stem from a more direct artistic flow from the band, instead of the overproduced sounds that distorted “Uno! Dos! Tre!”

All in all, “Revolution Radio” is Green Day going back to their roots, but also embracing the melodic songwriting that they have developed over the past 30 years. The album presents a combination of Green Day’s self-awareness as a band and the nostalgic need to express the inner teenage angst that the band has made a career out of.

The album has clear musical direction, developed songwriting, high production value and strong emotions. It’s not “American Idiot,” but what album could come close? “Revolution Radio” is a good listen for seasoned Green Day fans, and a good introduction to classic Green Day for new listeners. Not an opus magnum, but a release worthy of high praise.

Fin Martinez is the culture editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @FinMartinez.

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