With new single “Holy Toledo,” Green Day sharply contrasts their past style of music.
This past week, Green Day released its newest single, “Holy Toledo,” which is featured in the film “Mark, Mary, and Some Other People.” This marks the fourth single Green Day has released just this year. Their first single “Here Comes the Shock” released in late February with the band’s partnership with NHL. The second single “Pollyanna” saw its release date in coordination with the beginning of the Hella Mega Tour earlier this summer. In the middle of the same tour, the band released a cover of Kiss’ “Rock and Roll All Night,” celebrating the return of live music. It’s safe to say that Green Day has definitely been keeping themselves busy this year as it appears the band is beginning to rebrand their music.
2020 saw the release of Green Day’s latest album “Father of All…” which was unlike anything Green Day had ever released before. The music style was similar to that of their “Kerplunk” album, but what was different were the lyrics. Green Day exists as an extremely political band as its albums “American Idiot” and “Revolution Radio” critique the former President Bush administration and former President Trump administrations respectively. “Father of All…” shakes off these politically charged thoughts in exchange for a more carefree attitude.
While “Father of All…” received mixed reviews from fans and reviewers, it is an extremely impressive album. Rather than singing within his own vocal range, Armstrong opts to sing in falsetto for the majority of the album, which is something he has never done before on a Green Day album. Within the same vein, Tre Cool’s consistently clean drum fills and the level he holds himself to while playing these songs is awe-inspiring; no track is more evident of this than the titular “Father of All,” which sees Cool playing an exceedingly complex piece of music at a breakneck tempo of 164 BPM. Despite all this, a large portion of fans never warmed to the album. Perhaps this has something to do with how different the album is in relation to previous albums; “Father of All” sees the band make the shift into pop-punk territory, though echoes of the band’s inspirations, such as Joan Jett, the Clash and the Beatles, can be heard.
Green Day followed up with a new single “Here Comes the Shock” with its fitness themed music video, choreographed by Hilken Manchini of Punk Rock Aerobics. “Here Comes the Shock” sounds like it was a B-side song leftover from “Father of All…” Steeped with musical influence, this song is energetic and fun, but it lacks any of the musical craftsmanship present within their last album. When it comes down to it, “Here Comes the Shock” is just three friends who have known each other for 35 years, having fun.
“Pollyanna” sees the band shifting into a different direction entirely. Taken from Eleanor H. Porter’s novel “Pollyanna,” the name has become synonymous with an overly optimistic viewpoint on life. With lyrics like “It’s wonderful to be alive” and “everything is gonna be alright,” “Pollyanna” is an uplifting song that chooses to focus on the positives rather than the negatives, which is a drastic shift for the band. Green Day never heavily relies on darkness or strife for their music; it’s just baked into the songs by what inspired the song’s creation. “Pollyanna” seems deliberate as if Armstrong knew that Green Day’s fans needed a pick-me-up. The phrase “everything is gonna be alright” is something that everyone has desperately wanted to hear the past few years. Judging by the music video, which focused on different audiences from the Hella Mega Tour, the Pollyanna effect definitely spread to the crowd as smiles can be seen for as far as the eye can see.
This past week, Green Day released their newest single “Holy Toledo.” Beginning with a slow, melodious ballad, the song soon launches into an energetic pop-punk anthem. Sharply contrasting “Pollyanna” with lyrics like “I’m killing myself just to live,” “Holy Toledo” concerns itself with trying to feel a spark of life—to feel alive again. Brutally honest and highly relatable, “Holy Toledo” stands as one of the strongest songs the band has released in years. In fact, it feels like one of the most “Green Day” songs that the band has ever released as it is reminiscent of their Trilogy albums and Green Day side-project, Foxboro Hot Tubs. Despite these similarities, “Holy Toledo” teases fans with a new direction and era for “God’s Favorite Band.”
With all this in mind, Green Day has recently been spotted hanging around the BBC Recording Studios in London. It seems as if the upcoming year will usher in the band’s 14th studio album and, along with it, a new era for Green Day.
