On December 11, 2012, a month before planned, Green Day released the third installment of their 2012 ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, ¡Tré! album trilogy. Following suit with its sister albums, ¡Tré! is good ol’ pop punk with a touch of clearer, crisper rock-n-roll.
Did Green Day need to release a whopping three albums in such a short span of time? I think they could have created one solid compilation with the best of all three, leaving out the numbers that run mindlessly into each other or awkwardly clash with any sort of mood the band was trying to create. ¡Tré! is by far my favorite of this set, however still one of my least favorites out of Green Day’s 25 year career.
“8th Avenue Serenade” is wistfully romantic in a tattooed, spiky haired kind of way and I found myself wishing for my own cleaner-cut version of Billie Joe Armstrong. Out of nowhere, “The Forgotten” pulls out a sappy piano ballad about broken hearts and drippy emotions.
A pretty lil’ diddy, “Drama Queen,” is about a real life kiddo, proving that Green Day is just as grown up as their fans. I never thought I’d hear Billie coo something like “Daddy’s little bundle of joy, out of a magazine,” but here we are, old and responsible. I’d love to hear a live acoustic version of this track.
A “Little Boy Named Train” was so American Idiot and I relished every second of it. Lyrics like “I’ve got no destination,” remind our aging souls that taking life too seriously is for straight-edge kids with no personality.
“Dirty Rotten Bastards” is your classic head-banging, air guitar, dance-around-your-room tune with easy to shout lyrics like, “Cause California’s burning down tonight.” The pace slows in the latter half of the song, prompting me to immediately switch to the next track. “Brutal Love” feels like it belongs on the soundtrack to a bar scene with a pair of nostalgic lovers hashing out a romance turned sour. “Sex, Drugs & Violence” features bassist Mike Dirnt on vocals for a tiny little dip, adding charisma to an overall lackluster song.
Green Day went and did exactly what we hoped they wouldn’t, staying close to home and never straying far from the sound they know and love. We’re exhausted and ready for a break from these boys and they haven’t even toured in support of the album yet, but we have to give them credit for taking on such an endeavor.
LISTEN TO “A Little Boy Named Train”:
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