Back in the days when Busted were still in short trousers, Green Day were flying the flag for brattish teenage punk-pop. Now in their 30s, however, the Californian trio have clearly decided that it's high time they grew up and started writing about something other than naughty schoolgirls and annoying parents. American Idiot is their anti-Bush album, a scathing commentary on the man in the White House and the damage he's done to their country's standing abroad. Amazingly, the former champions of skate-rock are now producing nine-minute mini-operas, complete with muscular tunes and sneering political lyrics. Even more amazingly, the whole thing has been carried off with aplomb and even a little bit of subtlety. Against all the odds, Green Day have delivered a messy vindication that suggests they have a future as well as a past.

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