Album reviews: Green Day, Marius Van Den Brink, Vivaldi

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/01/2024 (616 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ROCK

Green Day

Saviors (Reprise/Warner)

For fans, here’s the good news: Green Day sounds like Green Day again. Father of All…, the Bay Area trio’s left turn into garage/glam territory, released in 2020, was largely lost amid the shock of the COVID-19 onset, even if some of it (the title track; Fire, Ready, Aim; Take the Money and Crawl) was the sound of a band stretching out and having fun.

For Saviors, the band decamped to RAK Studios in London, linked up with their multi-platinum über-producer, Rob Cavallo, and emerged with a 15-song banger of Green Day-sounding songs. As such, it should be a perfect platter upon which to serve heaping helpings of nostalgia on a summertime stadium tour that will reportedly feature Rancid, Smashing Pumpkins and the Linda Lindas on its North American leg. (They’ll supposedly be playing Dookie and American Idiot in their entirety during their sets.)

The not-so-good news is that Saviors doesn’t add much to Green Day’s canon. There’s a nice genre-bending twist to Bobby Sox, in which the openly bisexual Billie Joe Armstrong interchanges the words boyfriend and girlfriend when asking “Do you wanna be my…?”; opening track The American Dream is Killing Me is a welcome callback to the spirit of American Idiot (the opening half of which is the band’s finest work); and Look Ma, No Brains! and 1981 recall the speed-buzzed mania of Dookie.

However, singing “I’m not a part of the MAGA agenda” on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve may well be Green Day’s major statement of 2024. As Saviors’ 15 songs comfortably crunch along, longtime listeners will find themselves playing spot-the-influence. Armstrong’s never been shy about borrowing from others, so keep an ear cocked for Pink’s So What (on One Eyed Bastard), and Kurt Cobain’s infamous “stupid and contagious” on album closer Fancy Sauce. Heck, they even recycle the riff from When I Come Around as the intro to Goodnight Adeline.

Three out of five stars

Stream: The American Dream is Killing Me; 1981; Corvette Summer.

— John Kendle

JAZZ

Marius Van Den Brink

New York Knock (Highline Music NYC)

As with classical music, jazz has a wide variety of styles and moods across a growing range of influences. Many albums reviewed here reflect the complexity of that statement. In the case of this album, one is reminded that not all current jazz needs to forge into unknown territory. Pianist Van Den Brink offers a delightful album of accessible, swinging and “recognisable” music that actually sounds a bit retro at times.

That is absolutely not a criticism.

Van Den Brink’s main band has Stacy Dillard on saxophone, Sean Jones on trumpet, Matt Penman on bass, Willie Jones III on drums and Keita Ogawa on percussion. There are a number of guests on various tracks. They nail the playlist of Van Den Brink originals that offer excellent melodies around which to solo. The album title uses the word “knock” to mean wake-up call, reflecting Van Den Brink’s adjustment to New York from a small town in the Netherlands. The title track sets the rhythmic groove beautifully, and the following tracks maintain variety and solid unison moments. All the band gets airtime, but trumpeter Jones and saxophonist Dillard offer the main message over Van Den Brink’s keys.

There are African influences on several tracks such as Camara, while the lovely ballad Margot refers to Van Den Brink’s one-year-old daughter. The Lion is a tribute to stride pianist Willie ”the Lion” Smith. Penman’s bass solo on JIN is a gem. The writing on the album is uniformly excellent — evocative and always accessible. There is humour and a Mediterranean feel to In Greece We Drink that is a treat.

In fact, this whole album is purely a treat. Solid, well-played jazz that entertains and makes one smile is always and will always be an important part of the jazz world. This album proves it.

Four out of five stars

Stream: Margot; New York Knock

— Keith Black

CLASSICAL

Vivaldi: Concerti per una vita

Théotime Langlois de Swarte, violin & direction

Le Consort (Harmonia Mundi)

France’s Théotime Langlois de Swarte pays homage to the master of the violin concerto, Vivaldi, as the musician leads his own group, Le Consort, in this upcoming release by Harmonia Mundi.

The fulsome, two-disc set features nearly 20 violin concerti in addition to single-movement fanfares, sinfonias and fantasias, showcasing the depth and breadth of the baroque composer’s artistry.

One notable highlight is an original version discovered a mere two years ago in Genova of Violin Concerto in G Minor, RV 315, ‘L’estate,’ known as Summer from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, including more prominent “cuckoo” and “bluebottle” sections than customarily heard. The ensemble founded in 2016 and comprised of Langlois de Swarte; Sophie de Bardonneche, violin; Hanna Salzenstein, cello; and Justin Taylor, harpsichord, brings new freshness to each of its three imagistic movements, with finale Presto particularly bristling with energy.

The release also features debut recordings of many other 18th-century works, including the Recitativo from Violin Concerto in D major, RV 212, and Violin Concerto in E flat major, RV 250, making this set a welcome addition to the Vivaldi discography.

Violin Concerto in D Minor, RV 813 is infused with requisite drama, while others, including the Adagio from Violin Concerto in A Major, RV 768 further demonstrate the group’s lyricism and ability to meld as one.

An arrangement by Oliver Foures of Fanfare from Concerto for Two Horns in F Major, RV 539 offers ebullient spirits as well as textural variety to the entire album. The comprehensive program is rounded out with other contemporaries of the “red-haired priest,” including Giovanni Legrenzi and Johann Paul Von Westhoff; each composer adding his own contrapuntal voice to the mix while making this a satisfying tapestry of sound for 21st-century ears.

Four stars out of five

Stream: Violin Concerto in G Minor, RV 315, ‘L’estate,’ Allegro non molto; Violin Concerto in A Major, RV 768, Adagio

– Holly Harris