Oh, what a day. What a lovely day.
Three years after Revolution Radio, our East Bay punk dads are back, and they’re not taking any hostages.
Their latest single, “Father of All Motherf***ers” came to us the same day as the announcement of the Hella Mega Tour (featuring fellow pop-punk dad rockers Weezer and Fall Out Boy) and two months after the trio vehemently denied any new music was in the works. And while fans were suspicious about said denial, since the band seemed to be plenty busy in the studio, we took their word for it. We should’ve known better.
To be perfectly frank, “Father of All Motherf***ers” does not sound like a Green Day song. Or at least, it doesn’t sound like the kind of song we’d expect to come from Green Day. Certainly, this isn’t your older brother’s four-chord punk.
Lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong eschews his signature, nasally punk shouting for a bluesy-rock warble, more aligned with the likes of Jack White or Beck. Bassist Mike Dirnt shows off his chops as always (he’s just a little more funky this time around), and drummer Tré Cool is very clearly having the time of his life, playing drums like he was meant to—wildly.
It is, by all accounts, a good song, and has a lot more flavor than, say “Know Your Enemy,” or “Basket Case.”
And yeah, there’s nothing remotely punk about it (if we’re defining “punk” by rigid standards anyways), but it’s still a full-fledged banger and one that you can easily mosh to. “Father of All Motherf***ers” is hard, fast and loud, and it definitely feels like a song that was written specifically to expel an immense amount of pent up energy—like the jam session that got the band back together.
And while Armstrong has insisted (via a rather kooky YouTube description) that this song isn’t political, with lyrics like “Lyin’ in a bed of blood and money // Huh-uh, what’s so funny? // We are rivals in the riot inside us,” it’s hard to take that statement seriously.
Obviously, Armstrong watches the news. And obviously, that’s informed his songwriting, as it always has. Even if he’s not being as obvious about it as he was in American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown, it’s definitely still there.
A tiger can’t change its stripes, but in general, him stepping back from the overtly political and just focusing on fun music feels right. It’s not the Green Day we know and love, but at 47, with a few Grammys, a Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame Induction and even a Tony under his belt, Armstrong isn’t exactly anti-establishment anymore. It’s time for him to step aside and pass the torch. (Which he clearly has—his protégés, SWMRS, are here for that.)
Anyways, we’re stoked, and we can’t wait to see them on the Hella Mega Tour!
Featured Image: Reprise Records
