Green Day - 'Bang Bang'

Green Day is not a band that goes lightly. Their new single 'Bang Bang' is a blistering punk track full with punk appeal and big riffs.

'Bang Bang' is the first new music Green Day has offered since 2012's album trilogy, ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, and ¡Tré!, an experiment that met conflicted reviews. Many of the songs within the three records sounded the same and made listening through the albums a chore. 'Bang Bang' will be found on the band's next album, Revolution Radio (details of the record can be found here), and Billie Joe Armstrong promises that the album has some dimension.

Speaking of 'Bang Bang' with Rolling Stone, Armstrong claimed, "It's about the culture of mass shooting that happens in America mixed with narcissistic social media. There's this sort of rage happening, but it's also now being filmed and we all have ourselves under surveillance. To me, that is so twisted. To get into the brain of someone like that was freaky." The song definitely follows this message - the chorus chants "Bang bang! Give me pain! Shoot me up to entertain" to comment on the media's coverage on American shootings over the past years.

The song is full of blistering lyrics. "I want to be a celebrity martyr... Hurrah, the hero of the hour" and "I've got my photo bomb / I've got my Vietnam / I love a lie just like anybody else". As far as Green Day songs go, this one isn't forgiving by any means. It's as reprimanding of the modern American media as you'd expect it to be.

Musically, there are some interesting things going on. The song begins with a lo-fi recording of a news report before kicking into a big, upfront riff and a punk beat. Armstrong's signature voice provides a melody that serves as a leading voice for a revolution (an uncommon occurrence in Green Day music). It has a very call-to-arms demeanor to it - definitely going to a big song onstage. The bridge moves differently, a middle eastern melody taking form before kicking back into the big chorus.

Green Day's next album has a lot of promise. 'Bang Bang' feels like it's breathed a new life back into the band. The last efforts sounded like it was the band's steam dying out, perhaps as a result of Billie Joe Armstrong's personal difficulties. Revolution Radio has a lot of promise. Green Day is back!

Rating: 79 / 100