Green Day - Uno
Initially, I would say this album was a return to form for Green Day, but upon further reflection, I'm not sure that's really the case. For some reason, I've linked Green Day with bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers or Weezer, bands who have seemingly suffered a decrease in quality while bidding to stay relevant in today's music scene. Green Day has undoubtedly managed to stay relevant - it's still weird to see them on the music-playing portions of the MTV empire (usually MTV2 around 2 in the morning) right next to Katy Perry and Lady GaGa - but I do question whether that sustained relevance came with a cost in quality. Green Day's last album 21st Century Breakdown seemed a little underwhelming coming after American Idiot, but it still was a fairly solid album, and despite those two albums completing Green Day's transition from a snotty punk band to an arena rock band, the music never stopped sounding like Green Day, at least not to my ears.
All that said, their newest release Uno does seem to hearken back to pre-American Idiot days. Billy Jo Armstrong's voice does sound a little overproduced on this album, but the majority of the songs are the kind of driving three chord punk songs that wouldn't seem out of place on Dookie or Insomniac. We can debate whether at this point the band could write these types of songs in their sleep, but who cares about the difficulty of creation: the formula still works.
Selections
Nuclear Family
No Doubt - Push and Shove
Here's the second part of the 90's nostalgia wave that was released this week. Their first album in over 10 years, Push and Shove finds No Doubt dropping a lot of the ska elements that I identify with "classic" No Doubt, instead focusing on synth-driven New Wave and the catchy dance-pop of Gwen Stefani's solo albums. While I'll likely always prefer to the bouncy ska of Tragic Kingdom, I'm not going to hold that against this album, which still manages to be catchy and anthemic at times (besides if I want to hear early No Doubt, I can just listen to the Ting Tings' latest album). This won't be considered a classic or anything, but after a ten year hiatus, the band can at least take solace that they are still able to make interesting music.
Selections
Settle Down
The Soft Pack - Strapped
I really enjoyed this album, which is the third by San Diego band The Soft Pack, but the first one I've ever heard. I'm probably going to regret making this comparison, but while listening to this album for the first time, the band that kept popping into my head was the Stone Roses. A lot of the tracks on this album are driving rock songs that manage not to be overly heavy, but they're also able to slow it down a bit to groove, as on the excellent "Bobby Brown." This is probably my favorite album of the week; every track is pretty enjoyable.
Selections
Bobby Brown
Tallboy
Chinatown
The Soft Pack – Chinatown
TOY - TOY
I'm not really sure how to describe this debut album by the London band. I guess it's kinda post-punk, kinda psychedelic. The album largely features midtempo songs without a lot of hooks that are primarily focused on atmosphere, but unlike my normal reaction to similarly categorized songs, I was never bored listening to these. A few times this band reminded me of The Cure at their moodiest. At the very least, they are an interesting band to take note of going forward.
Selections
My Heart Skips a Beat
Colours Running Out
Singles Section
A.C. Newman - Encyclopedia of Classic Takedowns (feat. Neko Case)
A.C. Newman's album Shut Down the Streets doesn't come out until October 9, and I will definitely be covering it in-depth when it is released (likely by solely writing, "I just like the way A.C. Newman writes songs"), but I love this song too much to not share it before then. Not that my love is any surprise; there was next to no chance I wouldn't love a song with Newman's bouncy catchy hooks and Neko Case on backup vocals (although what did Dan Bejar do to not be invited to this?). I'm officially excited.
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