Review | Green Day’s ‘Saviors’ might be the best pop punk album of the year

Green Day released their new album “Saviors” on Jan. 19. The band started teasing a new album and tour in October. They posted cryptic messages and posts all over their social media accounts that had fans excited. Green Day is going on tour over the summer with the Smashing Pumpkins, Rancid and The Linda Lindas. On Oct. 24, 2023, they released the new album’s first single, “The American Dream Is Killing Me.” Green Day has always been a political band, as most punk rock and pop punk bands are, and I would say they are one of the best. 

Many people had mixed feelings on “Father of All Motherfuckers,” the last album Green Day released before “Saviors,” which they released Feb. 7, 2020. Many music reviewers wrote articles about it, one saying, “Green Day have become the very thing they once despised: buck-chasin’ mild boys of mayonnaise corporate rock.” Another said, “seeing Green Day branch out a bit and succeed at something different is refreshing … it’s a sign of artists with a great deal of range and imagination who are far from done surprising us.”

Some Green Day fans weren’t too excited for a new album after “Father of All Motherfuckers.” In all honesty, I liked “Father of All Motherfuckers.” It wasn’t the best Green Day album and it wasn’t my favorite, but it still had me looking forward to new music and whatever else they had in store for their fans.

I was super excited to hear the entire album after listening to the singles prior to the album’s release. Some fans contend that “Saviors” is the best Green Day album since “American Idiot,” released almost 20 years ago in 2004.

My favorite song on the album is the single “Dilemma.” Storytelling in songs is very important to me — “Dilemma” may be a catchy song, but it also describes struggles with addiction and mental health. In past years, Billie Joe Armstrong, Green Day’s lead singer and guitarist, has struggled with alcohol abuse. The lyrics “I was sober now I’m drunk again, I’m in trouble and in love again, I don’t wanna be a dead man walking” describe just that. 

Billie Joe Armstrong tends to get personal with many of his lyrics, which is one of the many reasons I love Green Day — we can also see this in Armstrong’s lyrics about anxiety in their popular song “Basket Case,” which is off the album “Dookie,” released 30 years ago today in 1994. 

Next is “Suzie Chapstick,” which seems to describe the feeling of losing someone you thought would be in your life forever. It is a sad love song — those are some of my favorite types of songs. I especially like the lyrics, “Will you say hello from across the street, from a place and time we used to meet?” There is something about these lyrics that reminds me of going to specific places with someone who used to play an important role in my life, then seeing that person there later on. You almost feel as if ignoring that person from the past is the best option — more so if that person did you wrong.

My third favorite on the album is “Strange Days Are Here To Stay.” This song describes that as years go on, it’s normal for things to change so much, but it feels so strange. The pre-chorus lyrics “These are the best of times, twisted and borrowed times, these are the loneliest of times” describe the feeling of knowing there are good times, but there seems to be more bad than good. The lyrics “Lonely boy with a heart made of hate, baby Babylon and making guns made out of clay” and “All the madmen going mental, grandma’s on the fentanyl now” describe mass shootings and the rise in the opioid epidemic. It is extremely important to have songs that mirror what is happening in the world, as music can bring more awareness to these issues.

I genuinely enjoyed every song. As for my least favorites on the album, I didn’t dislike them a ton. My least favorite is “Father to a Son.” This is one of those songs I don’t see myself listening to a lot, and I would probably skip it most of the time if it came on shuffle. I would really have to be in the mood to listen to it.

Overall, “Saviors” by Green Day is a solid album and I would give it an 8/10. For their upcoming tour, I’m hoping to hear my top songs from “Saviors” live, aside from them playing the entirety of “Dookie” and “American Idiot.” Give “Saviors” by Green Day a listen, because I think it might be one of my favorite albums of 2024, even though the year just started.

Have thoughts on “Saviors” by Green Day? You can email Irene at inm24@pitt.edu and tell her about your thoughts!