Green Day

Father of All...

If you’re just looking for some catchy pop-punk rock & roll tunes, they’ve written 10 of those, and most of them are real good.

In 2020 Billie Joe Amstrong and co. are rebels without a cause, their 13th album an angry little fucker with its collar popped.

Green Day deliver everything with such panache that the songs’ limitations don’t really matter, especially when they manage to make tired old tropes seem fresh.

It's close to impossible to emerge from it's rapid-fire near-half-hour without a smile on your face.

On ‘Father of All…’ Green Day have delivered possibly their most immediate album this century and an album that, despite its short length, grows more rewarding with repeat listens.

While the album doesn't deliver their most memorable songs, its wild glam experimentation and attitude-heavy performances show a band still seeking new thrills even decades in.

It crackles with energy, buoyed by the feeling that the trio are finally unshackled by their past. It's punchy, and the hooks generally last long past the record's short runtime.

Father of All… is a solid album that shows not only their mastery of sound but also genre and nods to the greats that came before them.

The pop-punk stalwarts resist political commentary in lieu of making the most convincingly carefree Green Day record of the new millennium.

It doesn’t always quite connect, but it’s a bit of fun all the same.

It's clear what they've wanted to do, and in some aspects have nailed it head-on, but to execute this properly, there needs to be more focus on wrapping that pure-as-fuck punk heart that beats in their chests in something more than a cartoon unicorn.

In an era defined by the worst American President in history, Father of All… resolutely refuses to engage. No big statements, no grand thematic structures, no political posturing. In a way however, this feels like the radical option these days - a raucous, rock’n’roll ‘no comment’ on our times.