Green Day – ¡Dos! (01/12/2012)
As the second of the ¡Uno! ¡Dos! ¡Tré! trilogy and their 10th studio album, ¡Dos! highlights the very best of Green Day’s history alongside their newest experimentation. ¡Dos! plays as a more cohesive album in both the musical composition and the lyrics, with a growing story line of a man pursuing love in a girl out of his reach.
See You Tonight opens the album on a mellow folk rock note, with an acoustic guitar melody and simple lyrics. The softer styling of the track, while usually more fitted to the close of an album rather the open, manages to create a strong opening to the album. As the lead single, Stray Heart has been a fan favourite since its debut at Green Day’s secret shows in 2011. The song is certainly on the popier side of the album, with its retro hooks and radio-ready tune making it a stand out of the album.
The final three tracks of the album are certainly among the strongest of the 13 tracks, building ¡Dos! into a powerful and memorable rock album. Nightlife is an unexpected and enjoyable addition to the album featuring spoken word verses by Lady Cobra. The song’s unique blend of rock and rap creates a heavy, almost drunken sound that captures the sex, drugs and rock n’ roll tone of the lyrics. Moving away from their classic rock styling, this song will either be loved or hated by fans, but certainly deserves more than one listen.
Heading back to their classic sounds of guitar solos and driving drumbeats, Wow! That’s Loud has a strong punk-rock sound fitting with their earlier albums. The song also features a spectacular, psychedelic breakdown reminiscent of The Who’s finer works before blasting back into Green Day’s forceful rock sound.
Amy closes the album in a similar fashion to the opening; with a simple guitar melody supporting Armstrong’s vocals to bring the album full circle. The song is a touching tribute to the late Amy Winehouse complete with a soft guitar melody and the rather heartfelt ending “please don’t go, do you want to be a friend of mine?”
While sequels often suffer from not living up to the first instalment, the classic punk-rock styling and Armstrong’s heartfelt lyrics certainly make sure that this was not the case here. And if ¡Tré! continues in this fashion, it will definitely be an album to look out for.
Bethany Williams
See You Tonight opens the album on a mellow folk rock note, with an acoustic guitar melody and simple lyrics. The softer styling of the track, while usually more fitted to the close of an album rather the open, manages to create a strong opening to the album. As the lead single, Stray Heart has been a fan favourite since its debut at Green Day’s secret shows in 2011. The song is certainly on the popier side of the album, with its retro hooks and radio-ready tune making it a stand out of the album.
The final three tracks of the album are certainly among the strongest of the 13 tracks, building ¡Dos! into a powerful and memorable rock album. Nightlife is an unexpected and enjoyable addition to the album featuring spoken word verses by Lady Cobra. The song’s unique blend of rock and rap creates a heavy, almost drunken sound that captures the sex, drugs and rock n’ roll tone of the lyrics. Moving away from their classic rock styling, this song will either be loved or hated by fans, but certainly deserves more than one listen.
Heading back to their classic sounds of guitar solos and driving drumbeats, Wow! That’s Loud has a strong punk-rock sound fitting with their earlier albums. The song also features a spectacular, psychedelic breakdown reminiscent of The Who’s finer works before blasting back into Green Day’s forceful rock sound.
Amy closes the album in a similar fashion to the opening; with a simple guitar melody supporting Armstrong’s vocals to bring the album full circle. The song is a touching tribute to the late Amy Winehouse complete with a soft guitar melody and the rather heartfelt ending “please don’t go, do you want to be a friend of mine?”
While sequels often suffer from not living up to the first instalment, the classic punk-rock styling and Armstrong’s heartfelt lyrics certainly make sure that this was not the case here. And if ¡Tré! continues in this fashion, it will definitely be an album to look out for.
Bethany Williams