A11

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It's taken a long five years for Green Day to follow up their wildly successful American Idiot CD, which gave their career a renewed lease on life. All of these new tracks are undeniably Green Day. Many of them hold a similar spirit to those found on American Idiot and though there is nothing technically wrong with any of these songs, the record struck me as being a tad over ambitious and over thought at times.

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Know Your Enemy packs a nice punch, as does The Static Age and Christians Inferno. It is on tracks like Before The Lobotomy and Restless Heart Syndrome that the group's ambitions are a little more abundant than they need to be. Simplicity in songs can speak volumes louder than even the most convoluted, complicated material can.

Though the record ain't a full-fledged home run, 21st Century Breakdown definitely has its good moments to take note of. You just need to listen for those moments amongst some filler.