Blink 182
“Neighborhoods”
(Geffen/UMG)

Let’s just jump right into it: I like the new Blink 182 record.

Now I’m ready to lose scene points (is this still a thing?).

(crickets)

I have long thought that the expectation that Blink should make another record like “Cheshire Cat,” “Dude Ranch,” “Enema of the State” or even “Take Off Your Pants and Jacket” is totally unreasonable. If the band decided to revisit their “punk” roots, it would come off disingenuous and it would be the biggest lie on the planet since Clinton tried to redefine “sexual relations” and the word “is.”

From very early on in their major label career, Blink hopped from Mark Trombino to the late Jerry Finn, the venerable producer who helped the usher the band to their biggest pop hits. They are no different from Green Day, another huge band that has transcendent the “punk” aesthetic so much that there’s absolutely no going back to “Kerrplunk.” I draw this producer reference because stalwart punk bands like Descendents, NOFX, or Bad Religion, have worked with the same recording crew, by and large, and have been (for their benefit) consistent in their musical output. Blink, on the other hand, aren’t necessarily turning the tide of pop music, but certainly, they’re willing to take more chances for their ability as musicians.

Which FINALLY brings me to “Neighborhoods,” Blink’s first studio album since 2003’s self-titled record, and the first one post-reunion. It is a natural extension of their last album, as well as an amalgam of their post-breakup projects, Angels and Airwaves and +44. The album starts off with “Ghost on the Dancefloor,” the best example of the amalgam I just mentioned, and segues into “Natives,” one of two songs that sounds like “classic Blink” (“Hearts All Gone” is the other one).

As a whole, the album works. The songs are quirky enough with Travis Barker’s off-time drum parts and Tom DeLonge’s altered singing style (I have a theory that he has really bad acid reflux and basically has to relearn how to sing like himself). The best songs are the ones in which DeLonge and Mark Hoppus trade lyrics. That lends itself to the most polarizing and interesting songs on the record. There are some missteps like “Snake Charmer,” which slowed down a very strong first-half of the record. Take that song and “Hearts All Gone Interlude” out and the first part of “Neighborhoods” is really awesome.

This is a solid album, though it’s not my favorite Blink record (that would go to “Dude Ranch). I cannot fault Blink for wanting to make a weird pop record. Those guys have pretty eclectic tastes; shit, I’ve seen Hoppus rap a Public Enemy verse on stage a few times, so trying to get them to harken back to their halcyon “dick and fart” days is asking too much. Unfortunately, Blink circa 1998-2002 will have to live in memories, but this record isn’t a bad consolation.

— Ryan Pangilinan