Billie Joe Armstrong (picture above) is a part of Green Day. He is the lead guitarist and singer of the band. Armstrong is also credited as the main songwriter (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons).
The famous pop-punk trio Green Day is no stranger to controversy regarding their art or their business decisions.
At the start of their major label career, Green Day was criticized by their punk rock peers for selling out to get radio play. This move, however, brought punk rock into the zeitgeist of the late ‘90s and would profoundly change the alternative scene for bands from Blink-182 to Panic! at the Disco to arrive in the subsequent years. Unfortunately, the powerhouse trio has again decided to move more towards the mainstream with their most recent release, Father of All…, giving themselves plenty of room for criticism.
It’s been four years since Green Day’s last release, Revolution Radio, which marked a triumphant return to their trademark pop-punk sound from the early 2000s. In contrast, Father of All… sounds much more like a half-baked Fall Out Boy record, complete with tossed-in hand claps and vague political jargon. Running at a meek 26 minutes—after four long years, no less—this album is a flash in the pan of “Oh Yeahs” and throwaway comments about bulletproof backpacks and the like.
Lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong emphasized multiple times the political activism and statement-making that would be present on Father of All…, as he has been known throughout his career to be politically active in both art and actions. The group’s album American Idiot is considered their magnum opus, after all.
But Father of All… seems to show that the group has failed at keeping their political side strong, and it shows in the more “political” songs such as “Oh Yeah!” and “Junkies on a High.” The most ironic part about this album’s statements about the current state of the country is how precise it is in its delivery in exemplifying how out-of-touch older generations can be about conveying the issues at hand in a coherent manner.
Though somewhat of a throwaway album, there are still a few gems on the record. The lead single, “Father of All…” displays a very heavy, Woodstock-era Portugal the Man influence for a satisfying intro to the album. “Stab You in the Heart” draws heavily from the lighter sounds of ‘60s and ‘70s surf rock, and “Meet Me on the Roof” sounds like more mainstream rock ‘n’ roll from that same era. “Take the Money and Crawl” also shines through, sounding very much like the desert rock pioneered by The Black Keys’ El Camino.
Overall, Father of All…, is a relatively disappointing album overall, with only a handful of good tracks peppered amongst the generally lazy songwriting of the rest of the album. The album’s overall tone seems to be confused and unguided, and simply isn’t a great album to listen to for your pop-punk fix.
The insult to injury for all of this is that Green Day has been in the music industry for over 30 years, and on top of this have had four full years to create a new album of songs, yet only put out 26 minutes of unfortunate content.
Frankly, this album should have been something as triumphant or high quality as another Revolution Radio; unfortunately, Father of All… is simply a disappointing effort on nearly every front.