Having overstretched themselves with ¡Uno!, ¡Dos! and ¡Tré!, 2012’s trilogy of distinctly patchy albums, Green Day have returned to form with their 12th album. There are no great departures stylistically: as ever, radio-friendly, melodic punk predominates, although the closing ballad, Ordinary World, is all the more affecting for its unadorned simplicity. The difference this time is that the choruses are punchier, the lyrics more focused (recent single Bang Bang tackles mass shootings from a perpetrator’s perspective; the everyday violence of contemporary America is reflected throughout). Even the chugging Outlaws transcends its similarity to Bon Jovi’s mawkish Never Say Goodbyecorrect to ultimately charm. It all makes for their most coherent album since 2004’s American Idiot.
