The ballads are their glossiest ever; "Last Night on Earth" could be Air Supply, and don't think for a minute they don't love the idea of pissing people off with that. But the highlights are the rage-fueled punk anthems. They barrel through Latin-flavored guitar raves ("Peacemaker"), Clash-size bootboy chants ("Know Your Enemy") and four-chord garage slop ("Horseshoes and Handgrenades"). "Last of the American Girls" comes on as a fabulous left-wing love song to a rebel girl — when Armstrong sings, "She won't cooperate," he's giving her the highest compliment he can imagine.

Green Day set their sights on religion this time, with "East Jesus Nowhere" as their anthemic attack on Christian hypocrisy. But mostly they're singing about America waking up from an eight-year nightmare. In the lofty ballad "21 Guns," they even seem to have a kind word or two for disillusioned Bush supporters ("Your faith walks on broken glass/And the hangover doesn't pass").

Part of the thrill on 21st Century Breakdown is that the Green Day guys don't need to be pushing themselves this hard. It's not like there's anyone left for them to compete with. (What, Sponge are gonna do a three-disc adaptation of Moby Dick? Probz not!) Yet the extra strain is audible in the music, and every song adds to the overall vibe of grown men trying way too hard to communicate, challenging themselves along with their audience. They revitalize the whole idea of big-deal rock stars with something to say about the real world. They're keeping promises they never even made, promises left behind by all the high-minded Nineties bands that fell apart along the way. If it's a continual surprise that Green Day are the ones to pick up the torch and run with it, that's part of what makes 21st Century Breakdown so fresh and vital — Green Day sound like they're as shocked as anyone else.

By: Rob Sheffield