Foxboro Hot Tubs - Stop Drop and Roll Review

Posted by Daniel Wilcox on 05.20.2008

Green Day rolls back the years and parties like it's 1967.

While many of their fans believed that Green Day were hard at work, writing and recording the follow-up to 2004’s American Idiot, it would seem as if Billie Joe Armstrong and co. were in fact preoccupied with yet another side project.

The Foxboro Hot Tubs first emerged on the internet in December of last year, with six tracks, all of which appear on this album, available on their website. As soon as the tracks were made available, the jig was up. If you couldn’t tell from the music, the vocals of Billie Joe would be a dead giveaway that Foxboro Hot Tubs were indeed a Green Day side project. I know, shocking right? But we’re not here to criticize their ability, or lack thereof, to keep a secret.



Track listing:
Side One:
1. Stop Drop and Roll
2. Mother Mary
3. Ruby Room
4. Red Tide
5. Broadway
6. She’s A Saint Not A Celebrity
Side Two:
1. Sally
2. Alligator
3. The Pedestrian
4. 27th Ave. Shuffle
5. Dark Side of Night
6. Pieces of Truth
Running time: 31:35

That’s right, there are two sides! It’s pretty damn vintage little touch to a pretty damn vintage album.

I do love the unique sound that the Hot Tubs are rocking here. Every song starts with a brief little movie sample before kicking right into third gear and progressing from there. Each and every track has such a ambiguous sound in that it sounds like it’s been based off some old school 60s stuff, but also has the same indie-pop sound that frequents today’s charts so often. And the one thing that bridges the gap between the two sounds is the voice of Billie Joe, and it’s that and the sampling that makes this such a unique album.

I dig it, and I didn’t think I would. It sounds like influences have been brought in from all over the place, including the Kinks, The Stooges and The Hives. It’s certainly a bizarrely put together collection of tracks but it all seems to fit together nicely and things just work. There definitely is a distinct 60s/70s sound in places and the movie samples reinforce that, and for someone like me, who really isn’t into that sort of thing, to enjoy this record, Foxboro Hot Tubs would have to get things near perfect, wouldn’t they?

They pretty much do. Armstrong’s voice suits the music perfectly and the rhythm section is absolute quality. But the stuff I’m enjoying the most, are the tracks that share a ridiculously criminal similarity with other tracks written by an eclectic selection of artists. Take for example, Sally. A mere fifteen, maybe twenty seconds in to the first hearing of it and I find myself listening to The Monkee’s Stepping Stone. But then I go to the next track on shuffle and I find myself listening to Jet’s Are You Gonna Be My Girl. And the next track, The Pedestrian, sounds like Green Day’s Minority and Holiday mashed up. But the one thing that is very Green Day-esque is the lyrics. There’s the religious imagery there that was very much present in American Idiot coming through in Mother Mary and She’s A Saint…

Parts of Stop Drop and Roll are almost psychedelic (Red Tide) and then there are some that are predictably punk (the title track) and the vocals are the glue that holds it all in place to make one hell of a debut album and it’s obvious to me that this experience has been well worth it.

But it’s not something you would want to listen to over and over. Stop Drop and Roll does get old in a hurry and it’s a good job that the tracks are short and sweet; very sweet. In October of last year, Armstrong said the new Green Day material would reflect the way he’s been feeling and that is “middle aged” and I’d say that this effort from the Hot Tubs is anything but. It’s energetic, it’s fresh, it’s trippy and it’s got attitude. But it’s neither what I expect nor want from Billie Joe Armstrong 2008. I’ll keep this in my collection fondly, and bust it out when I’m burned out on real Green Day stuff. It’s that kind of record.

Green Day have got this experimentation out of their system. They’ve done the trip down memory lane with this vintage Green Day sound. It’s been fun but let’s go back to the studio and finish up the new album, please?

The 411: If you're a Green Day fan, like myself, who's been waiting for the follow-up to American Idiot for 4 years, this may not tickle your fancy, because it's as far away from being Green Day as you can get while still being Green Day. Having said that, there's really nothing wrong with this album. It doesn't take itself too seriously and is a very fun record which is, no doubt, all that they set out to accomplish. Even you want to compare it some of its influences, I'd even go as far as to say it holds up pretty well even if it does come off more as a tribute than anything revolutionary. Thumbs up for this effort.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]