Uno mas: a Green Day review
Jenny Stagner
Texan News Service
Green Day’s latest album “Uno!” was released in September and is the first of three albums the band has put together. “Dos” and “Tres” are set to release in November and December. This album differs from Green Day’s usual political bash fest and sounds more like the music Green Day became famous for back in the 1990’s.
This album offers its listeners the classic punk anthems that were missing from Green Day’s previous album “American Idiot.” Because “Uno!” is the first album in 12 years that is not centered around “sticking it to the man,” not many fans were certain if the punk rock band could stray away from their politically charged rants.
However, in this album they did just that. Band members Billie Jo Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool came together to create songs of madness, catchy pop choruses, and plenty of gritty guitar ballads. The lyrics are more general in this album than the previous “21st Century Breakdown” album. The topics include normal rock topics such as sex and rebellion.
A song that stood out to me on the “Uno!” album was “Fell for You,” a rock song about longing for a romantic partner. While the song creates a feeling of sadness, it stays true to Green Day’s style by offering punk lyrics throughout. The opening line is a perfect example, “I woke up in a pool of sweat, first thought that I pissed the bed.”
Other songs on the album such as “Nuclear Family” and “Loss of Control” are angry ballads forcing listeners to be happy about being mad! Green Day excels at bringing out this ironic emotion.
Fans will be pleased with the variety “Uno!” offers as well as the stamp of Green Day’s rebellious attitude in every song. Each lyric, each guitar strum, and each beat of the drum is drenched in the pure punk rock for which Green Day has always been known. This return-to-roots album is sure to be the beginning of a successful trio of Green Day albums.
