Green Day are at a point in their careers where they can basically do anything. Almost all of their fans from the Gilman Street days are gone and they seem to appeal to a completely different crowd now. That's not to say that the "true punks" don't still enjoy then, but the band's audience has definitely expanded over the years and it reached a new height after American Idiot, an album that managed to spawn numerous successful hits and rejuvenate the band's popularity. Ever since Warning the band's sound has taken an interesting turn and it exploded with the rock opera, American Idiot. That album set the bar very high for them and it's apparent that the band that once made Dookie is now gone. They've distanced themselves from the pop-punk band that they used to be and have turned into a high-scale rock band.
On their eighth studio album, 21st Century Breakdown, Green Day aren't trying to win any old fans back and are looking to pick up right where they left off on American Idiot, only this time around, the band has made a three-act epic detailing the story about two lovers (Christian & Gloria) in a time of destruction. Sound familiar doesn't it? Yes, this concept is somewhat similar to the one on their previous album, only a lot more over the top and ridiculous. The thing with American Idiot was that despite it being extremely dramatic and somewhat vague, it was actually listenable the whole way through. 21st Century Breakdown basically continues to expand on this and Green Day sound bigger and more ambitious than ever, but what does that mean they still make a listenable album? Yes and no. There are parts to 21st Century Breakdown where the band sounds like they are literally trying to be "the best band in the world" and end up falling flat on their faces. It's understandable that an album that boasts eighteen tracks is bound to have a few filler tracks, but there are no real "fillers" on here; the music in general is just uninteresting and boring. Not to mention this album fails at what the band intended it to do, which was to leave a lasting impression.
All complaints aside, the band has their own agenda now. If they want to tackle more important issues in their lyrics, then that's fine but it would be nice if some of these lines would be a little more inspired. The line that sticks out like a sore thumb is from "East Jesus Nowhere" which reads, "You're a sacrificial suicide / Like a dog that's been sodomized!" Now, I understand that it's a metaphor but it's a foolish one. Those who complained about Dookie's lyrics being sophomoric might be a little surprised when they hear this. There's also "Last Night On Earth" which looks like it was written by an 9th grade English student, "My beating heart belongs to you / I walked for miles 'til I found you / I'm here to honor you / If I lose everything in the fire, I'm sending all my love to you." Sounds like something I've heard before
.in just about every cheesy love song. Oh, don't worry, it gets worse! The biggest disaster of a song comes on "Last of the American Girls" which may break the record for the number of atrocious similes used in one song, that and it sounds like a rewrite of "Whatsername" from American Idiot. Now, 21st Century Breakdown's lyrics really aren't all bad. The title track boasts a few nice tongue-in-cheek references that pay homage to some of their influences. "The last one born, the first one to run, My town was blind by refinery sun." There's also a brief reference to their song "Basket Case" in "Before The Lobotomy."
Things begin with Billie Joe Armstrong's voice coming through a static radio and then lead into the first piano chords of the title track, which alone, is an enormous piece of music. This reminds me of one of the nine-minute epics that were found on American Idiot as it starts off with the piano-chords and then leads into Green Day's signature style of anthemic pop-rock, but it then transforms into a powerful dance-styled number and then ends epically in vein of bands like Queen. "American Eulogy" is another track that flows similar to this as it begins with the radio intro that began the record and then leads into a punk anthem, then it goes into a little acoustic interlude and then after a brief "ending" it goes back into the punk-influenced anthem with the repeated line of "I don't want to live in the modern world." There's also a nice solo contained in here too. These are the two songs that nearly save the record from descending into boring mediocrity, but unfortunately there are just too many bad things on this record that drag it down. That's not to say that there's anything god awful on this record, there's just not really anything remarkable.
The other "highlight" of this record is the anti-war ballad "21 Guns" which is likely going to be the album's "Wake Me Up When September Ends." (Enjoy this track while it lasts because the radio is soon to ruin it in due time.) This track features Armstrong's best vocal performance where he almost sounds like he's channeling John Lennon. It's definitely a standout compared to the other ballads on the album which range from garbage to average, but it's still very cheesy and comes off as a bit pretentious. Other ballads include the aforementioned "Last of the American Girls" and the horrible "Last Night On Earth." Green Day's been at their best when they write catchy songs and as monotonous as songs like "Know Your Enemy," "Christian's Inferno" and "Peacemaker" are, they will be stuck in your head after awhile. "Christian's Inferno" is probably the closest thing to punk they have recorded in awhile. "Horseshoes and Handgrenades" carries a classic-rock feel to it and is probably the best track on here when it comes to short, catchy songs. Still, these songs are not nearly enough to save 21st Century Breakdown from the lyrical and musical mess that it is.
This is probably the most polarizing album Green Day have ever made. It will draw similarities to American Idiot but it's a completely different giant than it, a bigger and uglier one too. Green Day sound like they're going through an identity crisis and clearly don't sound like themselves in too many instances on this album. They sound like they're trying too hard to become the next The Who or Queen, and while there's nothing wrong for a band to be doing that, Green Day just fails at it. Those old Gilman Street fans who gave up on them years ago might not ever restore hope but the people who have loved this band since their childhood might see past all the negatives in this album and may still hope they have one good album left in them. It's not impossible for them to make another Warning, but that's clearly what the band doesn't want to do and their sound will continue to expand and get even more ambitious than before after this album. Let's just hope they get it right next time around.
