Following on from the standard issue punk anthem of American Idiot, Green Day's powerful attack on all things Bush, comes something very different indeed: Boulevard Of Broken Dreams takes the veteran rockers as far away from their punk sound as they've ever been (Last Ride In excepted), with relaxed melodies and backing vocals. It's certainly not what you'd associate with the name Green Day, but it does work.
The album American Idiot is intended to be more than a collection of songs, but rather a compilation of thoughts and feelings at the current political and social climate. From this perspective Boulevard is the inward-looking part of such a journey as Billy Joe examines his feelings of alienation and loneliness as he walks alone amongst his broken dreams.
It's an impressive attempt by a band that have been typecast as punk-pop to break out of such an image into a new area altogether, and most certainly something that they can build and improve on in the future.
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