Blink-182
Neighborhoods
(Universal/Island)
Suffice to say, when Blink-182 announced their hiatus in 2005, the gross demographic above the age of 21 was largely unaffected. And if you were a Blink fan outside of your formative years, well you probably abstained from admitting it. Blink has endured this kind of ignominy, ever since far-exceeding the expectations of a small-time San Diego punk rock band and etching their name in the history books, by joining the ranks of the loftiest chart toppers in modern music. Maybe it was all the dick jokes.
Mark Hoppus,Tom Delonge and Travis Barker have always been calculated with their art, even when they're cracking funnies about feces and farts. The rise of this band has been hallmarked by their ability to remain avant-garde in a genre that is renowned for hackneyed, paint-by-number reincarnations of the handful of icons who have come before. When Blink-182 released their self-titled record in 2003, they managed to break away from the inanity which had ostracized them from the masses; hell they even managed to get Robert Smith on a track. And just when it seemed like they had worked out all the kinks in their giant machine, they up and vanished like a fart joke in the wind. For six years.
The band formed new side projects: Hoppus and Barkers's electronic-tinged pop-punk group Plus 44 and Delonge's overwrought Angels and Airwaves. A string of albums ensued which never quite reached the desired acclaim (particularly for Delonge) and were deemed OK by fans and critics alike. Sill, all three remained irremovable from headlines -- Barker went down the path of reality TV star with his pop corn doozy
Meet the Barkers, while Hoppus and Delonge remained at the forefront of a multitude of business venutures, that saw them move into podcasting, fashion and social networking.
In 2008 a pair of tragedies would become the catalyst for the group's reformation. Long time producer (and suggested fourth member of the band), Jerry Finn, would die of a brain aneurysm at the age of 39. Several months later, Travis Barker would be involved in a grisly plane crash which claimed the lives of two of his friends, sparing his own and that of (the now deceased from a drug overdose) DJ AM. These two events would see the trio talking again and subsequently herald the reconstruction of the band and the launch of Blink 182, 2.0.
Thus, two years later,
Neighborhoods, the seventh studio album is born.
Much in the same way 'Feelin' This' unfenced Blink's 2003 self-titled, a discernible Travis Barker rattle opens the record, proclaiming the denouement of an eight-year drought and the birth of a rejuvenated and ripened Blink-182. Delonge's refrain of
"I saw your ghost tonight / it fucking hurt like hell" eludes to a number of plausible plot lines, the most obvious being the aforementioned cataclysms.
Delonge most wears his side-project badges in this opening track and throughout the record. With the band members artistic detours in the intervening years, the big question prior to this has been, "Will it have any old Blink sounding songs on it?". For the archetypal '90s Blink fans, 'Natives' is probably the closest thing you'lll get to anything pre-
Enema of the State. The hybrid 'M+M's/Dumpweed' opening riff is a diverting stroll down memory lane, with Hoppus' vocals sparring with Delonge - a cat and mouse game that's worked for them since the early days.
Elsewhere, first single — and power-pop monster — 'Up All Night', as well as the mid-tempo romantic offering, 'After Midnight', continue the arena-rock sound that Delonge explored on Angels & Airwaves. Most surprising perhaps ate 'This is Home', and 'Wishing Well' -- the ilk of jangly indie sing-alongs you could imagine an East London band might spawn. Only the trebly so-cal twang of Delonge's vocal setting them apart as Blink tracks.
Blink-182 records have a history of being top-heavy -- a frantic opening followed by a batch of slow burners.
Neighborhoods is no different. 'Love is Dangerous' and 'Fighting the Gravity' are pleasant enough late surprises though, winding the record down to a melancholic cessation. The trail-off again poses the question: is this it for Blink 182 as far as studio records go?
Under the nearly suffocatingly slick production and the surreptitious lyrical content, this
is a quintessential Blink-182 album -- one which should resonate with anyone who's been a fan at some point. Delonge, Hoppus and Barker have proven at least, that they can come back as Blink-182 without relying on a crutch of rudimentary songwriting to please their masses of adoring pop-junkies.
Neighborhoods is an accomplished record from three dudes who continue to grow up, if not the kind of "return to form" fans might have been wishing for.
Current Californian-hipsters Best Coast
recently covered 'Dammit' at a live show, causing a room of new gen indie kids to punch the air in joy. It proves a point: so long as there's dumb fun to be had, there will always be a place for Blink-182.
Nick Holt
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