Green Day are back again with their eighth album, with no failure to surprise us. Green Day continue their sound of punk and have added in their love of classic-rock grandiosity. 21st Century breakdown is a seventies style epic about the story of two young punk lovers on the run in post-Bush America. The lovers; Christian and Gloria are protesters and were accepted because everyone hated the Bush regime. But they are betrayed by those they believed in and are forced to take care of each other because no one else will.

The album greatly portrays the band member’s attitudes towards life when Bush was president, singing about America waking up from its eight year nightmare. There are songs for everyone from ‘Christian’s Inferno’ for people that like a bit of anger in their music to ‘American Eulogy’ with powerful lyrics for those that prefer less aggressive and heavy music. The songs are catchy but soon wear themselves out, so some fans may be a little disappointed. It is true that this is no American Idiot but it is still a good album.

by Zoey Beddington