By Erika Kuehl | Staff Writer
While Green Day is celebrating the 30th anniversary of “Dookie” and the 20th anniversary of “American Idiot” this year, the California-born band hasn’t slowed down since its formation. With the release of “Saviors,” the band returns to its rock roots with a new British punk sound.
The album comes at a significant time in history. Amid current wars and political unrest, the album is reminiscent of “American Idiot,” which was released when the U.S. was going through a similar period after 9/11. The political references and innuendos are not for the weak, so you should take a pass if you fear controversy.
In a CBS article, Vivian Rashotte wrote that “American Idiot” — and, similarly, “Saviors” — connected with a younger generation who felt lost because of societal unrest.
“Lyrically, many of the songs on ‘Saviors’ feel like they draw from the spirit of ‘American Idiot,’ which deals with themes of fear, confusion and anger,” Rashotte said in the article.
For me, the song that stood out on the album was “Living in the ‘20s.” With lyrics that deal with school shootings and intimacy with robots, the song reflects the band’s connection with a whole new demographic of listeners. While sonically upbeat, the song depicts the bleak lives of the younger generations. Hearing lyrics such as, “I drink my media and turn it into vomit,” it’s hard to ignore the lyrical weight and slap to the face with every line.
The political statements don’t stop there. In “Strange Days Are Here to Stay,” Green Day imagines Jesus getting sick of the current day. They sing, “Ever since Bowie died, it hasn’t been the same. All the madmen going mental, grandma’s on the fentanyl now.” The song covers a wide variety of societal issues, such as drug abuse and mental illness — and spread out over Brit-pop sound, it almost becomes ironic. Green Day was smart to slip political messages in a seemingly-innocent baseline.
Another song that I connected with on the album was “The American Dream Is Killing Me.” It covers the pure exhaustion of hustle culture and the pressure to constantly make money and buy more. As a college student with an hourly paycheck, I especially understood when they said, “Bulldoze your family home, now it’s a condo.”
My one caveat is that in “One Eyed Bastard,” the opening riff sounds almost identical to “So What” by P!NK. Do we see an incoming lawsuit, or is this a sign of collaboration?
The album has more Easter eggs than Taylor Swift’s Instagram and tells an essential story of the political nature of our country. Even if you disagree with the lyrics, the music is exceptionally well-done. In an interview with CBS, Billie Joe Armstrong said he believes “Saviors” could be the next era of Green Day.
“We still care about the kinds of songs that we write and how much effort that we put into it,” Armstrong said in the interview. “I think you can get old; just don’t stop caring. That’s where I come from when it comes to making music. … For us, that’s kind of what Green Day’s about.”
