Saviors review: Green Day stick to the old formula with snappy stadium-sized songs

There’s little contentious about the music, however, and 30 years on from the breakthrough success with the Dookie album, the trio are back on sure, crowd-pleasing ground. Reuniting with producer Rob Cavallo, who helmed Dookie and their huge-selling American Idiot from 2004, is a wise move and he brings out the best of Billie Joe Armstrong and friends.

The album arrives ahead of a stadium tour and the songs seem purposely super-sized. (They call to Dublin’s Marlay Park in June.) Anyone who has remained immune to their charms until now will find little to change their mind. Sloganeering anthems are to the fore, with Living in the ’20s and The American Dream is Killing Me offering none-too-subtle takedowns of their fractured, troubled homeland.

There are surprises, though. Father to a Son is a big, sweeping, string-laden song with touches of rock opera. It shows the band are capable of intriguing leftfield moves.

And yet the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ maxim is applied throughout. The songs are snappy and direct. The punk attitude of old is still present but it comes refracted through a radio-friendly lens.