By Olivia Boyd, Contributing writer
Paranoid has arrived!
On Feb. 7, Green Day released their 13th studio album, “Father of All…” This is their first album since the release of “Revolution Radio,” the band’s 2016 album.
“Father of All…” is their shortest album to date, with only 10 songs totaling at a whopping 26 minutes of content to jam out to. The album takes the band’s time record which was once held by their 1995 album “Insomnia” that only consisted of 33 minutes.
Billie Joe Armstrong, the band’s lead singer, explained the reason behind the album’s length during an interview with an online review blog.
Armstrong said the album was short because it was a departure from what they have done in the past. This included what he called the “Rock Opera” of 2012’s “¡UNO!,” “¡DOS!,” and “¡TRÉ!” that contained a total of 36 songs.
Although the length of the album was different from what has been previously released by Green Day, the sounds and vibe of the album has remained consistent with their iconic punk vocals and musical accompaniment.
The album begins with “Father of All…,” a song that shares the same name with the album title. The beginning of the vocals are more high pitched than some listeners might expect from the usual voice of Billie Joe. However, people are quickly brought back to his regular tone with the remainder of the album.
The first song seems to be the only diversion from previous albums in relation to sound. However, it still contains the typical and expected sound of Green Day.
While a lot of the punk rock songs are similar to the band’s sound, the third song of the 10-song album brings back vibes from the first decade of rock.
“Stab You in the Heart” brings back sounds from the 1970s with its similarities to Elvis Presley’s and other’s swing beats.
However, the early 2000s nostalgia comes to life in the punk jukebox album which contains many similar tones to the band’s “American Idiot” collection back in 2004. The songs “Graffitia” and “Sugar Youth” gives fans of Green Day the pump of rock ‘n’ roll that 2020 needed a boost of.
The third song, “Oh Yeah!” is definitely meant to be a crowd pleaser. The upbeat bass and clap-along beat draws the listener in and keeps them listening along to the “oh yeah” hook. To get a crowd charged up, play this song to guarantee a head-banger.
Once again, the cross-generational punk band has incorporated the album with an air of depression and humor that leads you to think of the political and social climates rising.
Needless to say, the messages they intend to send have not changed and Green Day is just as good as they have been in previous years and should continue their uplifting music for years to come.
boydok17@bonaventure.edu
