“Father Of All …” Green Day album review

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Green Day’s “Father Of All” album cover

Spencer Cameron, Staff Writer

Green Day singer Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool are back to prove that age is just a number with the release of their shortest studio album “Father of All…” to date. The album, released Feb. 7, 2020, is a follow up to their 2016 album “Revolution Radio.”

This album is absolutely amazing with 10 new songs and a runtime of 26 minutes. Green Day continues to evolve with the times while maintaining their traditional punk-rock sound. With the clapping backtracks, poppy guitar riffs, excellent track mixing and synthesizers, this album sounds like it takes a lot of inspiration from other modern-day rock bands. The rock-attitude of The Black Keys, the cool vibes from the Queens of the Stone Age and even the psychedelic feelings of MGMT and Tame Impala all sound like they contributed to the inspiration of this album.

The opening title track, “Father of All…” begins with Cool tapping the hi-hat on his drum kit, leading into a monstrous yet simple chord progression from Armstrong. To accompany his guitar, Armstrong sings in the timbre of falsetto. This is especially surprising because he hasn’t sung this kind of style in any of his previous records.

Of all the tracks on the album, “Father of All…” is the catchiest. The only criticism of this song that I have is the lack of a recognizable bass line, which was a staple in previous Green Day records. All-in-all, this track is mixed very well, and the musicianship is tighter than ever before.

The next notable track, “Oh Yeah!” encompasses their change in sound. The drums really set the precedent for this song. Cool kicks off the song once more, this time using his powerful floor-tom. The bass and guitar kick in with an excellent riff that must be heard to fully understand its greatness. I’ve never heard Green Day actually encompass a catchy riff to start any of their songs.

Once again, “Oh Yeah!” truly shows how they’ve evolved over the past 30 years as musicians. After the ensemble of drums, guitar and bass, the song evolves into a very catchy chorus with great mixing.

Their longest song on the album, “I Was a Teenage Teenager,” clocking in at a measly three minutes and 44 seconds is easily a hidden gem. It opens up with a roaring and catchy bassline that sets the tone for the entire song. It’s easily one of Dirnt’s heaviest riffs to date. The lyrics aren’t necessarily the best, as it sounds like Armstrong is clinging onto his youth as much as he can. It just feels weird hearing a 50-year-old man singing about teenage angst and drugs. However, the song’s instrumentals outweigh the lyrics and make it great.

Nearing the end of the track list is one of the fastest songs on the record, “Sugar Youth.” If you enjoy any sort of post-punk music like Blink-182 or Sum-41, you’ll absolutely love this song. Nothing like fast guitars and a catchy chorus to make you feel nostalgic for late 90’s and early 2000’s punk rock. This song seems like it’s about Armstrong’s past heavy drug use, which I expected since it’s a large part of Green Day’s history.

“Junkies on a High” is probably the best song on this album. It’s got a groove that anyone could get down to. The song starts with a psychedelic guitar riff that immediately sets the vibe for the rest of the track. The piano and synthesizer mix really well with Dirnt’s harmonizing bassline, creating an ensemble of instruments that flow really well together. The crazy part about this song is that if you took out Armstrong’s iconic vocals, you wouldn’t even know it’s a Green Day song. It sounds nothing like the typical punk genre they often get classified into. I feel that this actually makes it one of their best songs to date, showing again how much they’ve grown as musicians.

“Father of All…” is a statement showing that the old guys still have it. They’re here to create more tunes that both old and new fans can get down to. All-in-all, I really enjoyed this album. While some songs sound like manufactured filler, the good songs and musicianship within the album outweigh any negative aspects of it. If you’re looking for some new music to listen to, I’d recommend checking this album out. You won’t be disappointed.