Green Day’s new album Saviors is a mix of modern rock and 90s punk rock that has a similar sound to bands such as Nirvana and Weezer. It plays off of social-political topics from their other albums, Dookie and American Idiot. Similar to American Idiot, Green Day starts out Saviors with a hit about the U.S.
The album starts off with “The American Dream Is Killing Me”, a song about how the “American dream” is hard to achieve and often doesn’t work out for people. It begins with a strong guitar riff and drum solo and then switches between a punk rock tone and calm rock. It’s a strong message to send out as the first track but it’s not off-beat from what they’ve done with their other albums.
Saviors notably has a much different sound from their previous album Father of All… which fans compared to music by The Black Keys. While The Black Keys aren’t a bad band, their sound isn’t what Green Day fans would expect.
With Saviors, they went back to their classic sound, most notable in their album Dookie, an album filled with lots of punk rock screaming and overdriven guitars similar to some of their fan-favorite albums. Not to mention Saviors is also filled with many guitar solos and riffs. Some of which make you want to start strumming along with the songs.
Similar to American Idiot, Saviors has pauses in between very punk rock songs that slow down the pace of the album. Songs like “Goodnight Adeline” and “Corvette Summer” are similar to “Jesus of Suburbia” and “Wake Me Up When September Ends” in the American Idiot album. Partway through the album, they transitioned into a calmer tone.
The new album has a lot of elements in common with Dookie and American Idiot, which are viewed by many as their best albums. It combines elements from both of those classics and adds a spin to it, making it unique and while not trying to copy their old albums like other rock bands from the 90s have done in recent years.
Ending an album is no easy task, the artist has to end a story in a matter of a couple of minutes. “Fancy Sauce”, the last song in Saviors, finishes off the album in a way that feels like a true ending and satisfies the listener. It’s a calm tone that gets calmer throughout the song and ends the album nicely.
With bands that have been around since the 90s, like Green Day, Weezer and Nirvana, they are bound to be albums that don’t meet fan expectations and fall under the radar and are often forgotten, but Saviors is different. It combines that classic Green Day sound and feel with modern-day rock and creates a must-listen-to album.
