Superstar punks Green Day are planning to release ’21 Guns’ as their new single, shortly after beginning a British tour.
Green Day have come a long way. The trio began life as colourful punks selling demo tapes out of the back of their tour van. After grabbing a major label deal the band have rarely looked back, with their album ‘Dookie’ becoming a massive crossover success.
Yet commercial plaudits led to the band being excised from credible rock circles. Too damn novelty, some argued, while others pointed to the group’s lack of lyrical weight. Re-grouping, Green Day worked on a new political direction which would result in the album ‘American Idiot’.
Released in 2004 the album would break internationally, tapping in a well of fear at the United States’ activities abroad. Green Day would release the President bashing title track as a single, cracking charts across the globe.
Five years on and the world is a very different place. With troops being withdrawn from Iraq and a new liberal President anti-American feeling has diminished, while the credit crunch has given people something else to worry about.
New album ’21st Century Breakdown’ continues with the hectoring tone of its predecessor, the arguably lacks the of-the-moment clarity that made ‘American Idiot’ so compelling. An ambitious concept album, Green Day’s new material has met with a mixed response.
To read our review of ’21st Century Breakdown’ just click HERE!
Green Day’s new album soared straight in at number one on the British charts, despite only being available for three days. The band have been busy playing a number of small scale shows in the United States, in preparation for a number of massive UK dates.
With three nights planned at Wembley alongside a multitude of enormo-dromes, Green Day’s UK tour is one of the biggest live music events of the summer.
In a recent interview singer Billie Joe Armstrong claimed the band would play lengthy shows for their British fans. Citing Bruce Springsteen as an influence the frontman plans to play one set of ’21st Century Breakdown’ material before moving on to a second ‘Greatest Hits’ set.
New single ’21 Guns’ will be released before then, however. A stand out on the album, the song gains a life of its own when dissected away from its surroundings. Devoid of the trappings of a concept album the song works as the sort of tub-thumping punk rock that Green Day do best.
Green Day are set to release their new single ’21 Guns’ as a download on July 13th.
