Green Day has been rocking the world for over three decades now, and their momentum shows no signs of letting up. From their early days on Lookout! Records to arriving on a major label in the early 1990s, to shifting into more diverse sounds and modern-day rock operas, they still own the world and the hearts of many fans. Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tre Cool have established they’re here to stay, and that’s not a bad thing.
SAVIORS marks the latest studio release from Green Day since 2020’s FATHER OF ALL MOTHERFUCKERS. The album marks the group’s reunion with longtime producer Rob Cavallo, who’d previously produced nearly all the albums for the group from 1994 major labor debut DOOKIE to 2012’s UNO DOS TRE trilogy.
Green Day in the 90s were the kinks of pop-punk, spawning a million imitators overnight. But even from their early days it was clear they were so much more; this culminated in the 2000s with the arrival of more progressive efforts like AMERICAN IDIOT. They even experimented with garage rock sounds on more than a few occasions. So… how does this new effort measure up?
When it comes to Green Day, you never quite know what you’ll end up with, given how many different directions the band has pulled in throughout their career. I was certainly hopeful for SAVIORS, hoping for a return to the band’s early pop-punk sound from the 90s, particularly with Rob Cavallo once again at the helm. And while the album doesn’t quite do that, what I won’t deny is that this may be the strongest album of tracks from the rockers since AMERICAN IDIOT nearly two decades ago. Each song is infectious and catchy as all hell. The group is energetic and full of their usual energy, but also not afraid to slow it down a bit too. So, is this the classic pop-punk Green Day? The garage rock version? The one that pursues rock operas with socially charged themes? At this point in time, they seem to content to simultaneously pull in all three directions. And when the songs are this good, is that really such a bad thing?
While SAVIORS isn’t quite the return to Green Day’s old school sound I hoped it would be, there’s no arguing with what’s likely their strongest effort since AMERICAN IDIOT, and that’s no small feat. I’d love for the next effort (preferably also with Rob Cavallo in the producer’s chair) to be a little more stripped down and closer to what the band sounded like in their infancy, but this is a damn fine album worthy of love from the fans. Highly recommended!