By Ellis Frederick ’12, Contributor.
Three years ago, a blink-182 reunion seemed impossible: Tom DeLonge, the former guitarist, made that clear in June 2008. “I have no desire to go back and play in blink-182 again,” he told Spinner.com. After a bitter break-up in 2005, DeLonge formed the band Angels and Airwaves while bassist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker founded +44. However, two fateful events in (the death of the band’s longtime producer Jerry Finn and the almost deadly plane crash involving Barker) brought the band back together in early 2009. The three punk-rockers announced that they were going to pick up where they had left off and continue making music together. Two years later, we are given Neighborhoods.
However, blink-182 did not pick up exactly where they had left off at the end of their original run. While sounding somewhat similar to their previous album blink-182, it is clear that each member of the band has grown in their time apart. DeLonge’s voice has matured noticeably from its previously immature scream, and Barker has infused hip-hop beats into his drumming. Hoppus is clearly the most invested in the band, as he is the anchor that keeps the songs recognizable and enjoyable for blink-182 fans. That is not to say that this change from the “old blink” is a bad thing; in fact, the result is a well thought-out record that is both meaningful and fun.
The lyrics are few–lead single “Up All Night” is only 198 words–but they still manage to be insightful. Neighborhoods is notably darker than any other album that Barker, DeLonge, and Hoppus have made. Themes of death recur in the album on songs like “Ghost on the Dance Floor,” and mentions of depression (“Natives”) and addiction (“Heart’s All Gone”) are also found throughout. The “f”-word sneaks its way into some songs, most likely to remind people that this is in fact a blink-182 album that they’re listening to, but the record is surprisingly more mature and, arguably, better than anything else that the band has released.
Musically, the trio seems to be walking a fine line between blink-182 and DeLonge’s Angels and Airwaves for most of the album. This may be due to changes in DeLonge’s voice or the much slower guitar lines, but blink-182 has a much bigger, more dramatic sound than previously. “Love Is Dangerous” and “Kaleidoscope” are much more complex and layered than the other songs, while “Hearts All Gone” and “Natives” are both reminiscent of 1999’s Enema of the State or 2001’s Take Off You Pants and Jacket. However, the songs in which the two extremes manage to balance each other out are the most enjoyable. “Up All Night” and “After Midnight” are both treasures in which blink-182 has managed to match punk guitar riffs with a stadium-rock feel, and it works.
Neighborhoods is most likely not the album that blink-182’s cult-like fan base was expecting or hoping for. Many wished for a more punk-rock sound and immature lyrics that the trio is famous for (listen to “What’s My Age Again?” or “Josie”), but if this album says anything about blink-182, it says that they are not the same band that they used to be. They have evolved into something more than their middle school-like antics and spiky hair; they are a truly influential band, and they have proven it in Neighborhoods.
Photo courtesy of www.soundcheckmusicblog.com
