Green Day: ¡Dos!

Green Day: ¡Dos!
Reprise
***

It wasn't supposed to be this way. Green Day's ¡Dos! should have been the second proud instalment of a herculean trilogy of albums. By now Green Day should have been headlining American stadiums armed with with two dozen songs.

Instead singer Billie Joe Armstrong succumbed to inner demons and is recuperating in rehab. Where the predecessor ¡Uno! saw the group exploring a power-pop palette, ¡Dos! finds them going to the garage for a more rollicking affair.

Barreling along at breakneck speed, Green Day sound at their most loose here, recalling the spirit of their alter-ego band Foxboro Hot Tubs.

Wild One is immediately hooky with a fifties rock sounding melody and the sprightly. Lady Cobra benefits from riffs reminiscent of The Hives.

Wow! That's Loud is barnstormer with Armstrong's vocals skipping gleefully over a stonking riff. There is also room for genuine experimentation with Night Life, a hip-hop meets reggae tune with a guest verse by rapper Lady Cobra. It doesn't really work, but the restless energy of ¡Dos! keeps the whole affair fun and repeatable.