The ageing Godfathers of punk-pop look to their snotty-nosed genesis for their latest opus... But is this too much to ask?

The first in an ambitious trilogy of albums to be released over four months, �Uno! has been billed by some as a return to the thrilling days of the California pop-punks’ snotty, slacker-teen breakthrough, Dookie.

But any hopes of such a feat, wiping away 18 years of Grammy Award wins, a Broadway opera and grandiose, million-selling political statement albums are swiftly dashed.

Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool long ago traded their hormonal, spittle-flecked urgency for closely harmonised, Singstar-friendly pop nuggets with a thunderous sheen.

Despite the band claiming they’ve hit their most creative period ever, �Uno! disappoints with some creakingly familiar chord progressions and nebulous, disposable lyrics.

Let Yourself Go and Nuclear Family rant and snarl encouragingly, Tre’s rapid-fire drumming conjuring up some of the Dookie magic, but Kill The DJ’s loping beat and nasal, repetitive call - apparently for politicos and pundits to shut up - sounds uncharacteristically tired and unimaginative. A very mixed bag.

2 stars