ALBUM REVIEW: Green Day – Father of All …

February 14, 2020 Steve Walker Album Reviews Comments Off

Green Day Band Promo 2019 — Green Day Publicity Photo (2020). Green Day tear down the veil of political criticality and with this carefree release, turns away introspectively to produce a pop-lit-ical garage rock album that remains true to the roots that kickstarted their domination. Grounded in the ongoing experience of adolescence, that it would appear does not really change has developed an album that observes the distance between youth and the world around them.

STEVE WALKER | Go Venue Magazine

The release of Father of All Motherfuckers through Reprise Records on 7th February 2020, is the 13th studio album release from Green Day. The eternal adolescence continues as the basis of the album represents the youth fueled introspective that has once again captured the apathetic rebellion and rejection of the generational landscape. The album cover features the remnants of American Idiot with added Unicorn puke. There is an uncensored version without unicorn that will be hunted by the more avid Green Day collector and is worth looking out for.

The album is not the socio-political anarchy that American Idiot brought to us by the band in 2004. This is the return to the garage pop/punk of a band starting out. A reprise of the early statementing about the experience of youth in a contemporary style is represented and indicates the notion of youth turning away from the ‘bigger picture’ issues in the world and concentrates on self and identity. There is a severe statement in this alone as there is a heavy political act of non-observance and lack of participation that is and will remain very powerful. Ultimately, young people have more important things to think about; themselves!

There is real artistry on the album, stand out features for instance are the drum work on ‘Father of All…’ that is clinically precise and has been used lightly to draw the tracks down from sheer 90’s punk to a more accessible and broader range. The use of falsetto in the vocals add an upbeat texture and bounce. There is positivity, as childhoods should be full of and the rock feel signifies the transition to a more challenging world. ‘Meet Me on The Roof’ is an excellent example of this coming of age placement of the album tracks.

At 26 minutes and 10 tracks, the album feeds the motive of the apathetic feed hungry track skipper generation. The album can be binged upon by the Netflix generation. This means that tracks can be consumed and themes around identity, social media, the irony of influencers. The album is not a determined anarchic pop-punk classic, it is the view and review of development that may speak to a new generation, but could exclude the previous ones who have grown up with the movement. You have to be able to adopt however, a personal world view to be able to take on the world and create a new one. The reprise of the early band foundations of ‘understanding’ the experience of youth through a virtual adult lens is something that Green Day have a talent for and will speak volumes to the ‘Stranger Things’ crowd.

Hella Mega Tour Dates 2020 begin in March this year with a line up including Fall Out Boy and Weezer. This LINK will take you to the global tour information. There are some special guests along the way including the Manic Street Preachers and Frank Carter.