For the past 22 years, mainstream rock ‘n’ roll has been under the reign of punk rock icons Green Day, carrying the revolutionary torch Kurt Cobain left behind from his brief career.
Of course, “American Idiot” is probably one of the greatest rock albums ever recorded, and other releases like “Dookie,” “Nimrod” and “21st Century Breakdown” solidify the group as one of the best rock groups in recent years.
Their previous three attempts — absurdly titled “¡Uno!,” “¡Dos!” and “¡Tré!” — did nothing but disappoint us by being the worst albums Green Day ever wrote.
However, considering the records were recorded during the worst of singer Billie Joe Armstrong’s drug use, I suppose it can be excused.
But if you still need reconciliation for Armstrong’s pill-popping and booze-binging-induced nonsense present on the aforementioned records, then you may find sanctuary in Green Day’s latest LP “Revolution Radio.”
Their first record in four years, “Revolution Radio” is protesting, savage, thunderclap-booming with sound and fury and reflecting the harrowingly dismal state of the world today.
It’s what every punk rock album should try to accomplish.
This record does for the presidential race today and all the racial bigotry and domestic terrorism surrounding it that “American Idiot” did for the Bush administration back in 2004.
“Bang Bang,” the first single from this record, takes a route similar to Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks” by singing lyrics through the perspective of a mass shooter.
The narrator of the song wants to “be a celebrity martyr” and “be like the soldiers on screen” through his inhumane actions.
With almost 400 shootings in the U.S. in 2016 alone, this is a disturbingly relevant topic to explore.
The band also explores social media, government oppression and police brutality in songs like “Troubled Times,” “Say Goodbye” and the title track.
However, just like every great Green Day record, there is an equally personal side to the lyrics on “Revolutionary Radio.”
“My name is Billie, and I’m freaking out,” Armstrong sings at the beginning of “Forever Now,” one of several songs on the LP that explores the singer’s drug abuse.
These songs, which also include “Outlaws” and “Somewhere Now,” also delve into the existential crisis Armstrong has had within himself.
He questions whether or not sobriety has deprived him of his rockstar status and has reduced him to some boring old man.
But the album does have its uplifting moments. “Youngblood” is probably the cutest love ballad ever written by Green Day and works as a beautiful love letter to Armstrong’s 22-year marriage with Adrienne Armstrong.
Without a doubt, Green Day’s most unified song on this new record, and probably Armstrong’s most personal song since “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” is “Still Breathing,” a song that explores Armstrong’s struggles with death, heartbreak and drug abuse.
But despite all these obstacles, he has managed to survive and carry on with his life.
There are times in all our lives — especially during cataclysmic, ambiguous years like this — where life seems hopeless.
Goals are only dreams and the end feels closer than the future.
But here we are, and still we breathe.
