Green Day
Uno

Let me make it clear right from the start that for me the Green Day died back in the year 2000, the year they released Warning, the last album worthy of their name. Despite the continuous disappointments, I can't help but follow them hoping to hear tracks in the 90s style. But from 2000 to today, only songs sellable like candy. After two banal and pretentious albums, called Rock Operas, comes UNO!, the first chapter of a trilogy. I decide, already skeptical, to listen.

The general listening, for a moment, reminds me of Dookie, Nimrod, and Warning. Nothing new, mind you, but unlike American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown, I don't feel compelled to call the album lousy.

The album starts like a car that stalls on ignition, with a track not quite suited to open an album. The track in question is "Nuclear Family," an enjoyable track, but not thrilling for an opener. It’s followed by the pleasant "Stay the Night" and the weak "Carpe Diem." Then comes the track that kicks off the album: "Let Yourself Go" is an explosion of that old fun punk that Green Day used to do. After this small return to the roots, which almost brought a tear to my eye, my blood runs cold listening to "Kill the Dj." It makes you want to break up with them forever. But upon re-listening, the song becomes more and more engaging, and the influence of the Clash is quite noticeable. It continues with "Fell for You" and "Loss of Control." The first feels like a B-Side of Warning, the second more overwhelming, but not too much. Then comes the pointless track: "Troublemaker," which copies the riff from "Main Offender" by the Hives. It continues with "Angel Blue," "Sweet 16," "Rusty James," tracks that are not very striking but still catchy. With the last track, the disappointment returns, but only for a moment. "Oh, Love," a track that, as much as it is quite out of their comfort zone, proves to be, along with "Kill the Dj," among the most successful of the album, almost sounding like a Country/Blues ballad. Technically, iUNO! falters in the order of the tracks, arranged in a non-continuous manner, moving from one track to another in a somewhat disjointed way. The same disarray as a Best Of, to be precise.

In conclusion, iUNO! is not a Rock Opera, nor a masterpiece, nor a work of great pretensions, but a simple album that sounds "almost" like a bad Green Day album from the past. The real ones, ugly, dirty, and mean. And for me, that's more than okay.