Album review: Foxboro Hot tubs - Stop Drop and Roll

Green Day made their long awaited return to the music scene with the worst-kept side project secret since... The Network. This latest sampling by Billie Joe et al, titled Stop Drop and Roll by the alter ego The Foxboro Hot Tubs, suggests that the boys are easing back into their stride after 2004's multi-award winning anthemic American Idiot album.

Stop Drop and Roll is, however, more of a chance to make some fun music with a 60's psychedelic, electro punk sound, sounding as colourful as the art cover that fronts it. There are obvious influences and similarities throughout the album, from The Kinks (Red Tide and Alligator) to Iggy Pop (Mother Mary), with songs like The Pedestrian providing more of a familiar Green Day post-Nimrod sound. Dark Side of Night will have you drifting to the hypnotic power of the instrumentals and Billie Joe's vocals, Stop Drop and Roll brings the familiar Green Day punch, Ruby Room is a head-nodding tune, 27th Avenue Shuffle will have you shuffling and Pieces of Truth will have you jiving with a mega trumpet solo. The album is also riddled with movie clip sample introductions, such as 1966 film Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Stop Drop and Roll/She's a Saint Not a Celebrity) and 1970's Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (Ruby Room).

Some might say that this is the funk and character that was missing from 2000's Warning album. Maybe this is the missing bridge between Warning and American Idiot, but the similarities between Stop Drop and Roll and American Idiot don't stretch much further than a few title tracks (Mother Mary – Jesus of Suburbia, She's a Saint Not a Celebrity – She's a Rebel and 27th Ave Shuffle – East 12th Street from Homecoming). However, Stop Drop and Roll is an upbeat, cheerful and funky helping from the Hot Tubs, and will prove to be a popular choice between Green Day fans old and new.

Verdict: Maybe now it is time for Billie Joe, Mike and Tre to get back to the real deal.
Liam