Stop Drop and Roll!!! : Foxboro Hot Tubs : Review : Rolling Stone

Foxboro Hot Tubs' debut sounds awfully familiar. Those buzzing power chords in "Alligator"? Cribbed from the Kinks' "You Really Got Me." That sleazy organ whine in "Ruby Room"? Straight out of Strawberry Alarm Clock's "Incense and Peppermints." Stop Drop and Roll is a time-machine blast back to the mid-Sixties moment when guitars got fuzztoned and pot smoke began billowing out of the garage. And, oh yeah, Foxboro Hot Tubs also sound an awful lot like Green Day. Because they are Green Day.

Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool have played nudge-and-wink identity games before: In 2003, they performed under the New Wave nom de rock the Network. But Foxboro Hot Tubs is a chance for these 35-and-over rockers to get back in touch with their inner glue-sniffing brat. In the torrid title track, Armstrong impersonates a teenager hopped up on illegal stimulants and testosterone. "Sixteen and a son of a bitch," he yelps as the guitars rumble. "Got a gun and a strychnine twist."

That teen-rebel romanticism might seem like a self-mocking, self-mythologizing move. (You can practically hear Armstrong's tongue in his cheek when he trades in his punker's spiked hair for a greaser's pompadour in "Mother Mary": "Do you want to elope tonight?/Getting lost in the shadows/All dressed up like a switchblade knife.") But there is some anxiety lurking amid the raucousness. American Idiot upped the ante on Green Day's career, elevating them to the ranks of heroic rock standard-bearers who condemned President Bush, recorded nine-minute suites and scooped up Grammys. So Stop Drop and Roll is a holding-pattern disc — a way to keep things light as they ponder their next move in a high-stakes megacareer. But might it also point the way forward? One of the best songs here is "27th Ave Shuffle," a raggedy boogie in which Armstrong sounds very grown up as he ponders crises personal and global: "Things are so much harder now/No matter how I try/Junkyard days and toxic waste/Still love is on my mind." It's a less grandiose anthem than, say, "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," but it cuts twice as deep. Green Day could learn a thing or two from this scruffy little band.

JODY ROSEN

(Posted: May 29, 2008)

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Give us your review of Stop Drop and Roll!!!

Review 1 of 3

5of 5 Stars

OMG, their cd is amazing i skipped school 2 buy it nd it ws so worth it, i luv it...nd ya i am sure evri1 now knows tht its green day. Well i am the biggest green day fan ever i hav evr1thng of theirz, nd i wuld just like 2 say tht ppl need 2 start buying the cd, cause i dnt even c it on tht many charts yet, nd if ur a REAL green day fan u'll buy it. But if u only liked them cause they were punk then dnt cause its not really a punk CD its more of a 60's mix cd, the sound r so majorly kl nd the songs r awsum, u can so sing along 2 them. My fav song on it so far is pedestrian, but i also really like ruby room, those r 2 reallt actchy songz tht shuld b made in2 videoz! Nd hopefully they cum out wit videosz cause they r the best band ever nd they shuld really show it by cumin out wit videos! GREEN DAY ROX!!!!:) SO BUY STOP DROP AND ROLL!!!:)

Jul 4, 2008 08:52:42

Review 2 of 3

3of 5 Stars

This certainly is an homage to 60's garage rock, from the sound of the tunes to the album cover itself. But to me the music is a lot harder than most actual 60's music. It sounds like the kind of music the Ramones would play if they came to be during that period. That's just an observation, not a criticism. This album is fun from start to finish. Next time you have a party, start this baby up, throw on your go-go boots and have a helluva time!

May 23, 2008 10:25:26

Review 3 of 3

5of 5 Stars

I get the feeling this was more about breathing in a few fun breaths after American Idiot than a safe way to keep their career going wherever they want it to. Anyway, I really enjoyed this cd, found myself swaying a lot, as well as wanting to jump around. I'm 19 so...missed the 60s the first time, but this is a nice homage throwback. Glad Green D...these guys can still impress and surprise me.

May 20, 2008 21:27:24

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