“Dos” (the second entry in Green Day’s in-progress rapid-fire album slate) arrives without the weight of expectation. Its speedy release on the heels of its predecessor “Uno” – which bore the brunt of pent-up audience anticipation and scheduled media hoopla – means it’s easier for this LP to carry itself as Just Another Green Day Album. “Uno” tried to be that, but its lack of immediacy and memorable tunes rendered it a might underwhelming. Thankfully, “Dos” ends up being the record people were promised last time around, a classicist return-to-basics for a group that had spent the better part of the last decade tipping ever further into rock-god self-importance.

Here the vibe is both livelier and more relaxed. Coupled with a spate of songs generally of a better rank than those on “Uno,” “Dos” exhibits none of the drag present on the last outing. “Dos,” as Green Day tells it, is supposed to be the garage rock party in the middle of the three-album set. The record is littered with callbacks to various forms of rough ’n tumble mid-20th century rock ‘n’ roll. Billie Joe Armstrong is particularly game in regard to conjuring the spirit of 50-year-old rock when he’s singing into the microphone, sounding downright Lennon-esque on “Wow! That’s Loud,” a British Invasion pastiche that’s as much indebted to hyper-melodic mid-’60s The Who as it is to the Beatles at their mop-toppiest.

AJ Ramirez/ PopMatters.com