Hi, everyone! My name is Simon, and it’s time for another individual album review, this time of the new Green Day album, Saviors.

So, recently, before listening to this album, I decided it was finally time for me to try and familiarize myself a bit more with Green Day’s music. So I went through their discography and listened to all of their albums with the exception of the trio of albums they released in 2012—I haven’t heard good things about them and it saved time to just skip them—and … well, despite the massive amounts of hype, I just can’t say they’re really for me.

Don’t get me wrong, their music is interesting and clearly seems like the kind of music it takes guts to make, but the production didn’t really work for me for the most part, and I didn’t find the hooks to be super strong, leading to a streak of consistently decent albums throughout the 1990s … and while American Idiot has got some moments that work for me, for an album trying so hard to be this huge, epic rock opera, it feels like it leaves a lot to be desired, such as more lyrical detail, or production to help the songs soar like they seem to be trying to.

And ever since then it’s been downhill, especially with Father of All Motherfuckers in 2020 … and I honestly wonder if they were trolling with that album. Either way, that album is quite bad, and I couldn’t help but think this was going to be an improvement … and it is, but is that really saying much?

Well, I’m actually pretty surprised by the generally positive reception this album has gotten from critics. And it’s not just because it’s a Green Day album in 2024 (which makes it feel destined to get a negative critical reception, like pretty much any other pop-punk band who was famous decades ago when putting out a new album), but also because I don’t think this is very good.

And it’s an album that doesn’t give me a whole lot to say … yes, I’m giving it its own review, but it’ll be a pretty short one. And if it weren’t for the fact that I planned for this to be an individual review for a while and did all that preparation by listening to their other albums, this would probably be a mini review.

I just don’t find much about this album all that interesting. As always this is just my opinion, but this feels like it’s supposed to be this huge, epic album with a huge statement to make, but it just feels really generic, blending in with a lot of generic music I hear on rock radio stations.

Even the best songs here feel like they’re lacking something. “Dilemma”, for example, has some introspective lyrics that I like, and the chorus melody is pretty catchy … and yet, the verses feel really boring and the production on this track doesn’t have the punch it needs to really click for me.

And there are other examples of otherwise strong hooks being held back by production, such as the clunky drums taking away from the firepower in “Goodnight Adeline”, or how the vocals are drowned out in the mix on “1981”, or the overpowering distorted guitar in the chorus of “Living in the ‘20s”.

This album just has such a messy feeling to its sound, with the mixing usually burying Billie Joe Armstrong’s vocals, which really doesn’t help with the anthemic vibe these songs seem to be aiming for.

And there are some real head-scratchers on here … for example, there’s the opener, “The American Dream Is Killing Me”, which to me sounds like pretty much the most generic political song one could make. I mean, it’s at least got some energy to it, but it mostly falls flat for me.

The first real highlight on the album for me is … well, “Dilemma”, I guess, but again, it feels like it’s being held back from hitting way harder. I think it’s a good song as it is, but not a great one.

“1981” and “Goodnight Adeline” both could be a lot worse, but they just don’t do a lot for me. And then there’s “Coma City”, which has some good vocal melodies, but the clunky drums sound awful—as they do in “Suzie Chapstick”—and I find it kind of cringey how Bille Joe Armstrong uses the phrase ‘Coma City’ seemingly referring to things shutting down due to the pandemic.

“Corvette Summer” has to be my favourite track here. It does kind of feel like it’s missing something and I can’t really place what, but it’s got a nice, catchy chorus, and the percussion sounds really good in the mix.

“Suzie Chapstick”, on the other hand, I don’t like at all. I already mentioned the clunky drums, but there’s also some airy production which leaves this with a really hollow feeling that doesn’t work at all in my opinion. Some of the melodies on this track feel like they could potentially really hit hard, but in this song it just doesn’t click for me at all, especially with some cringey moments like the post-chorus or the line, ‘I just wanna be your nobody.’

And then there’s “Strange Days Are Here to Stay”, which … well, it’s one of the better produced songs here in my opinion, with the snare legitimately sounding really good paired with the electric guitar, but I find it kind of awkward when Billie Joe sums up the world’s problems to, ‘Ever since Bowie died, it hasn’t been the same.’ And yes, I know he’s not actually trying to make it sound like David Bowie’s death was the one thing that totally caused everything to collapse, but still, it’s a strange line considering the rest of the song. Of course it was sad when David Bowie died, and I’m not denying the impact his death has had, but this song almost has this mindset of, ‘Well, everything was perfect before that!’ Again, I know that’s not literally what this is about, but it still feels awkward, considering there’s barely anything interesting here lyrically as far as I can tell.

“Father to a Son” is a nice song after the very underwhelming “Living in the ‘20s”, and then the album ends with the title track and “Fancy Sauce”, which … I mean, they’re fine, but just like the vast majority of this album, they leave a lot to be desired for me. To me they kind of represent the mindset of not worrying too much about being a hero … of course it’s good to do your part, but we can’t just fix all the world’s problems by ourselves, we need each other’s help. And while I don’t think either of these last two tracks are doing anything super interesting musically or lyrically, it’s a decent ending, I guess.

But by far the worst song on this album in my opinion is “Bobby Sox” … what the hell is that chorus? It’s so fucking annoying! 

At the end of the day, this is all just my own personal opinion, but I really couldn’t get into this at all. The production sounds messy, with a lot of clunky drums, annoyingly watery guitar sounds, basslines that sound foggier than I would have liked, and again, there’s the mixing and how the vocals sound buried a lot of the time.

And there are so many cringey lyrics that I could keep going on and on about, but if you want an example, ‘I got a buzz like a murder hornet.’

This album just isn’t for me at all. I’m gonna have to give this a 5/10. It’s not a bad album, but I also don’t think there’s a great song on here. And even as someone who’s not really a Green Day fan, I do think they have some great songs … just not on this album.

But, as always, let me know your thoughts in the comments. I’ll admit this review was kind of rushed, considering how busy this January is for me … but it also just isn’t an album I’d really want to spend that much time on anyway, and I still gave it half a dozen listens.

And with that, thanks for reading! I’ll be back with more reviews soon!

Final Thoughts
Rating: 5/10
Favourite Tracks: “Dilemma”, “Corvette Summer”, “Father to a Son”
Least Favourite Tracks: “Bobby Sox”, “Suzie Chapstick”