21st Century Genius

Though Green Day might often slip under the radar of many critics’  Top 10 lists, they are indeed one of the biggest rock bands of the last 20 years.

After a very impressive career that was solidified with “American Idiot,” arguably one of the last hit records in American music (selling more than 6 million copies domestically and acclaimed by critics), Green Day have obtained the freedom to do whatever the hell they want.

And if “21st Century Breakdown” is any indication of what they want to do, we are all winners.

Much like “Idiot,” “Breakdown” is a rock opera of sorts, divided into three acts with a connecting thread found throughout about two lovers, Christian and Gloria, trying to make it in a world of chaos. However, it is slightly less aggressive than “Idiot” and most of the “punk” is gone – this is full-blown operatic rock.

Green Day have pushed the boundaries of the sound they instituted on “Idiot,” and while there are no nine-minute opuses like on that album, the long and shifty title track is cut from that same cloth. Lyrics like “We are the desperate in the decline / Raised by the bastards of 1969” show lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong can still deliver biting words too, albeit more personalized instead of directed at one political entity.

Just like the faster songs are more pop than punk this go-around, the ballads here are softer, glossier and fantastic. “Last Night on Earth” and “Restless Heart Syndrome” see fantastic work from drummer Tre Cool, giving them a bombastic quality that fits.

Although things are more melodic this time around, there are enough hints of old Green Day to keep fans satisfied. Among them, “Peacemaker,”  “Know Your Enemy” and “Horseshoes and Handgrenades” rock the hardest.

Dense, complicated and intelligent, “21st Century Breakdown” could be better than “American Idiot.”  That is a bold statement, but at this point, everything Green Day does is bold.