CDNOW - nimrod review no longer content with churning out another album of snot-rock, green day dig a little deeper here and come up with a record that's smart, tasty and wonderfully catchy. balancing every trademark, gleeful punk number like "platypus (i hate you)," is a poignant pop song like "worry rock," whose surprisingly beatlesque hook out-lennons anything the brothers gallagher have done recently. in short, nimrod shows the evolution of a rapidly maturing band: for every window-rattler like "jinx," there's the cheap trick vibe of "redundant," or the stray cat-strut of "hitchin' a ride" (featuring that dog's petra haden). and while the die-hards out there may be shocked to hear the heavy-hearted harmonica of "walking alone," or the ska-pop of "king for a day" (featuring no doubt's horn section), they shouldn't be - remember, green day never claimed to be a punk band in the first place. green day vocalist/guitarist billie joe armstrong recently said that nimrod is "one of the best records that's been put out in the last ten years." no argument here. michael moses