{"id":22802,"date":"2012-10-11T06:34:18","date_gmt":"2012-10-11T11:34:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=22802"},"modified":"2013-02-05T16:34:05","modified_gmt":"2013-02-05T21:34:05","slug":"green-day-uno-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2012\/green-day-uno-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Green Day | Uno!<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines<\/span>
\n– News Editor —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"GreenIt\u2019s been three years since we\u2019ve seen a new studio album from Green Day, and given the success of their ambitious 2009 concept album 21st Century Breakdown<\/em> it\u2019s safe to say that expectations were pretty damned high for the eventual follow-up. Well, the album is finally here and true to form, the godfathers of the California pop-punk sound have once again defied expectations. Instead of another rock opera or concept album along the lines of American Idiot<\/em>, the new album \u2013 titled Uno<\/em> \u2013 is the first of three planned releases, with Dos<\/em> and Tre<\/em> following in November and January, respectively. Another notable shift is that Uno<\/em> is the first Green Day album ever to list a fourth band member \u2013 second guitarist Jason White.<\/p>\n

The band made a conscious decision to make Uno<\/em> a back-to-basics, classic Green Day album, and from the very start you can tell they\u2019ve succeeded. \u201cNuclear Family\u201d is the opening song, and it takes all of ten seconds for it to seem like you\u2019re hearing an old favorite instead of a brand new song. Green Day has always been brilliant at making the punk rock style more melodic and accessible, and they have that going big time here. Songs like \u201cStay the Night,\u201d \u201cLoss of Control\u201d and \u201cAngel Blue\u201d take the formula the band perfected way back on Insomniac and give it a modern energy and perspective similar to some of the catchier b-sides from the past few years (like \u201cLights Out\u201d and \u201cToo Much Too Soon\u201d). The terms \u2018catchy\u2019 and \u2018melodic\u2019 simply don\u2019t do justice to how infectious these songs are, or how quickly you find yourself singing along and repeating favorite tracks. Uno<\/em> doesn\u2019t all go down that easily though. The second single \u201cKill the DJ\u201d is as annoying as it is repetitive, and that\u2019s saying a lot. \u201cTroublemaker\u201d is another one that\u2019s more annoying than endearing, and probably should have been left for another Foxboro Hot Tubs record.<\/p>\n

Musically, the band is as tight as ever on Uno<\/em>. Having a second guitarist really pays off, and Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool prove once again why they\u2019re one of the best rhythm sections in pop music. Billie Joe Armstrong gets a little more experimental with the vocals, using electronic filters and enhancements on a few songs, but not enough to alter the core Green Day sound. Lyrically, the snotty narcissism and adolescent restlessness of Dookie<\/em> has been replaced by the frustration and barely controlled anger that comes with growing older. The profanity is dialed way up and we get a window into the mindset that found Armstrong throwing tantrums and bundled off to rehab. It\u2019s a far cry from songs about boredom and masturbation, but Uno<\/em> does have its more tender moments, like the bittersweet \u201cSweet 16\u201d and the simple, moving first single \u201cOh Love,\u201d which closes the album effectively enough to have you checking your calendar to see how many days are left until Dos is released. <\/p>\n

After a pair of ambitious and unforgettable albums as American Idiot<\/em> and 21st Century Breakdown<\/em>, it\u2019s hard to go back to the simpler, more straightforward pop-punk Green Day sound. In the end though, Uno<\/em> is just too damned hard to resist. Fans who found the last two Green Day albums too political or too pretentious (or both) will rejoice to have the old Green Day back, and Uno<\/em> is so enjoyable overall that it\u2019s unlikely to disappoint anyone who has ever enjoyed a Green Day album over the years.<\/p>\n

Genre: Punk Rock, Pop-Punk<\/p>\n

Band:
\nBillie Joe Armstrong (g) (v)
\nMike Dirnt (b) (v)
\nTre Cool (d) (v)
\nJason White (g)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tNuclear Family
\n2.\tStay the Night
\n3.\tCarpe Diem
\n4.\tLet Yourself Go
\n5.\tKill the DJ
\n6.\tFell for You
\n7.\tLoss of Control
\n8.\tTroublemaker
\n9.\tAngel Blue
\n10.\tSweet 16
\n11.\tRusty James
\n12.\tOh Love<\/p>\n

Label: Reprise Records<\/p>\n

Website: www.greenday.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 8.75\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines – News Editor — It\u2019s been three years since we\u2019ve seen a new studio album from Green Day, and given the success of their ambitious 2009 concept album 21st Century Breakdown it\u2019s […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6772],"tags":[336,155,6214,3294,334],"class_list":{"0":"post-22802","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2012","7":"tag-cd","8":"tag-green-day","9":"tag-pop-punk","10":"tag-punk-rock","11":"tag-review"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22802"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22802\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}