Best Track: “Oh Love”
Release Date: Sept. 24, 2012
The first in a trilogy of Green Day’s next albums to come (¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, ¡Tré!), ¡Uno! is a welcome return for the band after a three-year hiatus.
In their ninth album, the members of Green Day; Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Drint and Tré Cool; wanted to go back to their roots. They accomplish this with relative ease, despite their older age and absence from the Top 40 radio stations. A band that has been around for more than twenty years, Green Day is a master of making new music that still feels somewhat familiar to their longtime fans. The band gets a lot of criticism for their age but much of the album retains the same exuberant rebellion that has become synonymous with the band.
Anyone who has become attached to the overly theatrical style of the group’s last two albums (American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown) will be disappointed by this album. There are no overarching story lines in this album, no concept to accompany it, and it would be almost blasphemous to call it a rock opera of any sort. However, don’t write this album off yet.
The best songs on the album are the ones that feel the least forced and the most like the older Green Day. The first single, “Oh Love,” is perfect, classic Green Day. “Stay the Night” is the closest Armstrong and crew will probably ever get to a real love song. It’s messy, melodic and endearing. “Carpe Diem” is another stand out on the album, an anthem for anyone of any age.
On Sept. 21 at the iHeartMusic festival in Los Vegas, Armstrong infamously screamed profanities at the audience when the promoters of the concert told the band they were fifteen minutes over their allotted stage time. Armstrong, the lead singer, screamed “I am not f***ing Justin Bieber!” He then smashed his guitar on the stage, walking off angry. The next day he checked himself into rehab with the band releasing a statement apologizing for his behavior and any comments that may have offended anyone.
Many have called this outburst childish and unprofessional, speculating about its affect on record sales. While that seems doubtful, it certainly creates an interesting conversation surrounding the album that could influence their record sales either way. But the bottom line is that this is a good album. It is solid and uncompromising, filled with nostalgia for their older music and younger selves and most definitely worth your money.
