Green Day
¡Uno!
Reprise
****
The first of Green Day's three new albums is a winner, writes Saeed Saeed Green Day ¡Uno! (Reprise)
For many of Green Day's newest fans, the band's biography began in 2004 when the California punks released their undeniable masterpiece American Idiot.
It seemed that this success, and its unwitting side effect of having the band saddled with the "voice of the generation" tag, compelled the trio to release another bold statement.
The 2008 follow-up, 21st Century Breakdown tanked because anyone following the band pre-American Idiot knew the group worked best when left to their own devices.
This is why their latest release, ¡Uno!, sounds so much fun.
Stripped of expectations, Green Day returned to the studio to do what they do best: making a melodic racket with only a bunch of chords.
But the adventurousness they discovered since American Idiot's success is maintained, as ¡Uno! is the first of a trilogy of albums, which are being released at six-week intervals.
The idea is totally bonkers, of course, and the last big modern rock band to try this were Everclear, who began fading into obscurity after the staggered release of the two-part Songs from an American Movie in 2000.
¡Uno! works as both an album in its own right and as the first of a three-course musical feast. The opener Nuclear Family is straight out the gates with urgent riffs and a pile-driving chorus.
The intent continues with Stay the Night, a rocking paean to a shaky relationship that has an absolutely fabulous bridge.
While Carpe Diem shows the group have learnt a few tricks from their stint headlining stadiums, it has a sky-high chorus that can't help but propel your fist in the air.
Unrestrained by a concept, ¡Uno! pogoes along like the best of Green Day's early material. A few tracks recall the group's punk missives from the 1990s.
The taut Let Yourself Go could have been a single from 1995's Insomniac, while Fell For You is another display of the group's romantic streak, first explored on Redundant and Worry Rock from 1997's Nimrod.
The group's focus on melody takes ¡Uno! in a more power-pop direction than punk.
The tender Sweet 16 and the all-out swagger of Rusty James recalls the song craftsmanship of Fountains of Wayne.
Some new tricks fall flat, however. For all its publicity, the dancey Kill The DJ sounds like a poor Franz Ferdinand imitation and Trouble Maker is basically a riff going nowhere.
The album picks up again towards the end culminating with the Celtic-tinged closer Oh Love, which sets things up nicely for the more experimental approaches of the forthcoming ¡Dos! and ¡Tré!
sasaeed@thenational.ae
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
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Retirement funds heavily invested in equities at a risky time
Pension funds in growing economies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a sharply higher percentage of assets parked in stocks, just at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail markets.
Retirement money managers in 14 geographies now allocate 40 per cent of their assets to equities, an 8 percentage-point climb over the past five years, according to a Mercer survey released last week that canvassed government, corporate and mandatory pension funds with almost $5 trillion in assets under management. That compares with about 25 per cent for pension funds in Europe.
The escalating trade spat between the US and China has heightened fears that stocks are ripe for a downturn. With tensions mounting and outcomes driven more by politics than economics, the S&P 500 Index will be on course for a “full-scale bear market” without Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, Citigroup’s global macro strategy team said earlier this week.
The increased allocation to equities by growth-market pension funds has come at the expense of fixed-income investments, which declined 11 percentage points over the five years, according to the survey.
Hong Kong funds have the highest exposure to equities at 66 per cent, although that’s been relatively stable over the period. Japan’s equity allocation jumped 13 percentage points while South Korea’s increased 8 percentage points.
The money managers are also directing a higher portion of their funds to assets outside of their home countries. On average, foreign stocks now account for 49 per cent of respondents’ equity investments, 4 percentage points higher than five years ago, while foreign fixed-income exposure climbed 7 percentage points to 23 per cent. Funds in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are among those seeking greater diversification in stocks and fixed income.
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Co-founders of the company: Vilhelm Hedberg and Ravi Bhusari
Launch year: In 2016 ekar launched and signed an agreement with Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. In January 2017 ekar launched in Dubai in a partnership with the RTA.
Number of employees: Over 50
Financing stage: Series B currently being finalised
Investors: Series A - Audacia Capital
Sector of operation: Transport
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SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
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