On Tuesday, September 25, Green Day released the first of their trio of albums coming out in the next four months entitled Uno! on Reprise Records. This is the band’s first album in three years since their release in 2009, 21st Century Breakdown. As opposed to their prior two albums, Green Day adopted a new power pop sound, throwing away their typical concept album regime in attempt to go back to their original roots. Although the album’s playful spirit and colorful melodies provide a fun listen, the lack of depth in the songs leaves the record feeling unfinished and somewhat vacant in places where quality could have been improved. However, the cohesiveness and fluency of the record displays the maturity of the band and proves that Green Day still holds a special spot in the music world.
The album opens with a raunchy classic punk driven distortion followed by a simple backing beat and a very catchy bridge and chorus, making Nuclear Family a great opener for the album. Yet even though Green Day sparks a great beginning to the record, they struggle to keep the energy flowing as the record goes on. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but until the fifth track of the album, Kill the DJ, each song in between makes you feel as if they were copied from something like Nimrod or even Warning. Oddly enough, Kill the DJ contradicts the ideas of what Green Day stands for in the song, and what the song means, which makes for a hypocritical stance from both sides. A poppy, fun song in itself, Kill the DJ is a huge middle finger to modern pop radio and the music being played, however Kill the DJ is exactly the kind of song that radio DJ’s crave. Catchy, simple, easy to follow. Nonetheless, the song, like most of the record, is a good, fun listen, but nothing superb.
The second part of the record, track six and beyond, seem to all fit together like a puzzle. Each song smoothly transitions into the next like water through a hose. This level of maturity in their music accomplishes what many musicians cannot, which is to make a record where each song makes sense with each other, and not just throw whatever tracks sounded best on the album in no particular order. This goes especially for the final track, Oh Love, which finalizes the album in a way that makes it complete and finished. Uno! may have personality and a frame, yet it lacks flare and decadence. It lacks a quality that would otherwise leave it feeling rich with flavor and spice, or in other words, the songs are chocolate chips when they could be Fannie May bars.
The record falls short of leaving a stamp on Green Day’s great history, but is an example of how a band is capable of changing style, and not falling apart. It would be a rash and naïve claim to call the album a disaster as many called 21stCentury Breakdown, because as aforementioned, the record really is a lot fun to listen to. Songs like Sweet 16, Troublemaker, and Carpe Diem prove that even the deep cuts provide an enjoyable listening experience, and it’s hard to argue with ten bucks for a hard copy. The album is definitely worth a buy for those looking for a new CD for their car, or something to add to their music library. 6 out of 10.