Green Day: 21st Century Breakdown Review

This is not a fair review. Why, you may ask? Because in reviewing this album, I am basing its worth mostly on how it compares to its predecessor, American Idiot. I know that every piece of art needs to be judged on its own merits, but 21st Century Breakdown (21CB) is the same style of album as American Idiot (AI), has been called a spiritual successor to AI by the band, and has been compared to AI by pretty much every major reviewer I've read. So, with all of that out of the way, how does 21CB compare to AI, which for my money is one of the best rock albums ever released?

It sucks. Hard.

Yes, unlike almost every major reviewer out there, I heavily dislike this album, even on its own terms. Both the music and lyrics are a huge step backwards from AI, and the music sounds noisy and derivative. I have a feeling this album might work much better live, where the material could be played alongside older/better material, but as a studio album, the songs sound so similar that I didn't even notice at times when one song had transitioned into the next. Part of the power of AI was that even though it was a theme album, the individual songs were incredibly strong on it, enough to make you want to listen to them again and again. With 21CB, I can honestly remember three songs from the album, and for some odd reason, they all come near the end.

Another major difference between 21CB and AI is the context surrounding their release dates. AI was released at a volatile time in American history, and was a focused, direct assault on Bush and his administration; as a result, it had a vitality and purpose that very few albums have. 21CB completely lacks that sense of focus, and suffers mightily as a result. The energy here is all over the place, and the songs sound noisy and over the top for no particular reason. It reminds me of an action film where the camera cuts to a new shot every two seconds, trying to create the illusion of complicated filmmaking when in actuality the filmmakers have nothing of substance and so need to mask it with pointless, often incomprehensible action.

To top all of this off, the lyrics on 21CB are pretty much forgettable. AI had shockingly great lyrics, especially for Green Day. The singles off of AI, like Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Wake Me Up When September Ends, and American Idiot, were like the best anthems; catchy and with powerful lyrics that you could belt out at the top of your lungs and really feel like you were saying something of substance. Here, they have lyrics like the chorus to Horseshoes and Handgrenades: "Almost only really counts in horseshoes and handgrenades." What the $%#* does that mean?!

The songs I like from 21CB are The Static Age, 21 Guns, and Restless Heart Syndrome. For whatever reason, these leap out at me much more than the other songs on the album do; they feel more worked on and polished, and more direct than the other songs. They're not at the level of AI, but they're solid songs. They are also all at the end of the album, or the "third act," (eye roll) which strikes me as interesting; maybe Green Day worked harder on those or something.

The other thing I'm sorely disappointed with is that there are no mini-operas, like the two that were on AI. I love those compositions, as much for their audaciousness as for their musical quality. Were they completely successful? No, not at all; they dragged quite a bit (nine minutes will tend to do that to almost any rock song) and had parts that were less interesting than some of the other songs surrounding them, but they were full of energy, passion, and it felt like Green Day were really stretching their limits and having fun. In other words, damn good rock n roll. 21CB has nothing like that, unless you count the arbitrary "acts" that the album is divided into, which don't seem to have any cohesion.

In the end, 21CB reminds me of why I stopped listening to Green Day after a while, and why AI was so stunning to me when it came out. Green Day have always had lots of verve, are actually pretty good musicians, and write the occasional decent song, but usually lack the maturity and focus needed to really make a good/listenable album. AI was, out of nowhere, both extremely good, listenable, AND a total departure from anything Green Day had done. 21CB, on the other hand, is mediocre, mildly listenable, and sounds like a retread into some of their less interesting earlier work. I guess I'm not surprised, but I am disappointed. AI showed an enormous amount of promise, and it gives me hope that Green Day can put out something of its quality level again. 21CB, however, is not that.