 |
| 6.7 |
Remember last year when the Beastie Boys released their promotional short film Make Some Noise? Featuring a cast of today's best funny men, the film explored the idea of the '86 Beasties facing off against the '11 Beasties. While the band will never be the same hard-partying frat rappers they once were, they were essentially the same three MCs.
More than a year later, Green Day are out to prove a similar point with ¡Uno!, the first of their 3-part pop-punk opus. For most, this refreshing return to their roots of 90's power chord-laden singles is just what the doctor ordered after the one-two political punch of American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown. Contrary to these, there seems to be little to no agenda here, aside from fist-pumping laments of teenage angst and heartbreak.
The era of trying their damnedest to impersonate The Who seems to have given way to Green Day simply trying to emulate Green Day, despite a blatant Clash shout-out (Kill the DJ). But without the driving fire to reinvent the Quadrophonic wheel or preach to the masses of the 99%, does the band loose momentum in treading old ground? Yes and no.
Throughout its lean 41 minute running time, there is a prevailing feeling that I have heard better versions of these songs before, 15 years prior. These tunes are in a tough place. I applaud the band's direction to meld Idiot's clean production with the vivacious energy of Nimrod and Dookie. But in the big scheme of things only one (Let Yourself Go) will make my greatest hits mixtape. With two more albums popping off one after the other, one can only hope they don't pull a Weezer (Red/Raditude/Hurley) and disprove the theory that "more is better."
On the plus side, Green Day has surely won back some punk credentials and early fans in creating a fun throwaway soundtrack to back-to-school. ¡Uno! kicks off a new era emulating those passed and promises riotous live shows and two more albums worth of Green Day being themselves. And if Oh Love is any indication of what a sequel to Breakdown might have sounded like, this blast from the past is the band's best choice for a fresh start.
