Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *
The life and death of the party are twin elements in which the voyeur is drawn to, across all aspects of art, these two chains of interpretation can always be seen hogging the limelight, jostling for attention as the crowds gather to witness exuberance dance with melancholy and the animated conversation thrive between the energetic soul and the downward spiral of the unravelling passion.
The party is never over until these two entities meet in some quiet corner and start a row over just how they have responded to the great moments in their time, and as the blows are traded, the Father Of All… wades in and turns off the stereo, tells the partygoers that the police have been called, and to hand back their drinks at the door. The spoiler is not life and death, for they show art in all its forms to be beautiful, it is the calling of time that has been allowed to interfere with the celebration and social event.
It could be argued that for all Green Day magnificently brought to the public’s attention in the critically acclaimed album American Idiot and the thrill that accompanied its successor 21st Century Breakdown, life has not been kind to the post punk heroes who captivated the nation with their insightful observation and sheer genius of writing during that period. Whilst their latest release proves that one must never do what is expected of them, it can be argued that without a reason to have fire in the belly, without a motivation to rage against the hypocrisy of political damnation, that the post punk scene can, and will, become a shadow of its former glory.
So it is with self-censure, of pulling back, no matter the reason, from what defines your greatness, and whilst nobody can be expected to keep up the expression of anger, lest it take them to a place in which the soul is constantly exhausted, to turn your back away to the point where what you are producing is a thin veil of argument, is to admit that in many ways the party, once thriving and full of imagery, has now began to dwindle, to see the socialisers, guests, and even the host, drift off to another cause.
The album struggles to keep the interest up, and whilst it does not descend into the lethargy felt during the sessions of the trilogy of albums released in 2012, it still can be an experience of hurt that the “lifestyle of not giving a f**k” has taken over from the beauty of anarchy that was always a haunting brief created and enjoyed by the fans, and obviously the band as well.
Father Of All… companion to possibly few. An artist must at all times be true to themselves, but they must also feel the fire of anger, for else, what, unfortunately, is the point.
Ian D. Hall