| BLINK-182 - 'Neighborhoods' advance album review. |
| Written by Sarah Mudgway | |||
| Monday, 19 September 2011 13:23 | |||
09.02.09. To many this date (or 08.02.09 if you are based in the U.S.) simply passed by like any other day, but for me, it marked a moment in musical history that I didn't imagine was possible - Californian pop-punk group BLINK-182 announced their reunion, live at the 51st Grammy Awards. To this day, I still remember it clearly... sitting at my desk, I watched the live stream and as MARK HOPPUS, TOM DELONGE and TRAVIS BARKER walked on that stage together, I held my breath in anticipation and then it was spoken: "We used to play music together and we decided we are going to play music together again... Blink-182 is back!" With an album initially expected in the Summer of 2009 - which then turned into the Summer of 2010 - the months seemed to fly by, with no hint or rumour of an impending release date. But now, over two and a half years after that initial announcement, Blink-182 are well and truly back with their sixth studio album and first release in eight years, 'NEIGHBORHOODS'. The album opens with ‘Ghost On The Dancefloor’ which kicks off with a definite Barker-esque drum-beat, followed by an appearance of synths which slightly concerns me until the bass and guitar take over and it all begins to sound like the Blink-182 we’ve all grown to know. As Tom sings the line "god invented chills" with Mark Hoppus providing some soft harmonies, I wonder if it’s in reference to my chills of happiness and the relief of finally hearing new music from the band that I happily call my 'first music love'. Second track ‘Natives’ throws back to old-school Blink-182, with the guitar riff sounding like it was lifted straight from their [1994] ‘Cheshire Cat’ and [1997] ‘Dude Ranch’ eras. Once again Tom DeLonge takes over on main vocal duties, with Hoppus taking over for the chorus singing the sad line: "We’re having the time of our lives, but we’re dying inside." Being a fan of Mark’s vocal style over that of Tom’s, an initial gripe of mine towards the album is the heavy weighting of Tom’s vocals over Mark’s. That said, hearing the two of their voices working together in unison brings back enough nostalgia and love that who sings more seems like a rather petty argument in the scheme of things.  ‘Up All Night’ is the song most listeners will be most familiar with, being the first single the band released from the record on July 15th via Los Angeles rock radio station KROQ. Despite my having thrashed the heck out of the song already, the song continues to grow on me upon each listen, with the guitar riffs and Barker’s insane drumming still exciting me every time. As the first song the band wrote for ‘Neighborhoods’, it will forever stand out to me as the song which made Blink’s reunion real and for that reason it holds a special place in my heart. ‘After Midnight’ follows, the second official single released from the record just a couple of weeks prior to the album’s release date. The track once again follows the album's apparent formula of DeLonge taking over on verse vocals and Hoppus coming in for the chorus. With lyrics such as "We’ll stumble home after midnight, sleep arm and arm in the stairwell..." ‘After Midnight’ provides one of the lighter moments of the record, with DeLonge referring to the song as "kind of like the next ‘I Miss You’" in the band’s cover story with Alternative Press magazine. ‘Snake Charmer’ opens guitar-heavy, dropping back into a softer verse before picking right back up again for the chorus. The song references the bible story of Adam and Eve, with the lyrics: "Good girls like to sin, way back at the starting line..." For me personally the song starts off kind of blah, but by the end it builds up into this symphony of sound before dropping off into a moment for Barker to shine with soft synth-lines being backed up by his drumming. ‘Hearts All Gone Interlude’ is up next, immediately followed by ‘Hearts All Gone’. The interlude kicks off with a soft piano part, before the sound of Tom’s lead guitar skills kick in. For me personally, this interlude feels the most out of place on the record, quite possibly due to its unfortunate lack of Travis Barker, however it does showcase the growth in maturity and technical ability that Tom and Mark have experienced over their hiatus. That said, ‘Hearts All Gone’ is one of my favourite tracks from the album with Hoppus finally taking over on main vocal duties. It’s one of the fastest tracks on the record - Hoppus has likened it to ‘Josie’ and DeLonge to ‘Party Song’ - which showcases Travis Barker’s incredible ability behind the drum kit, and ultimately is a great reminder that while Blink may have grown up, the band still remember their faster roots. But while it is faster, the lyrical content still retains the darker tones which fill much of ‘Neighborhoods’. For anyone hoping for a repeat of the band’s lighter and significantly less mature days, I’d suggest dusting off ‘Enema Of The State’ and listening to that instead. However that’s not to say that this album is all doom and gloom and no fun. ‘Wishing Well’ - or as I like to call it, 'The la di da da song' - has a definite Summer feel to it, with the sing-a-long "la di da da" refrain immediately getting stuck in my head. DeLonge has listed this track as one of his favourites from the album, and as he sings the lyric "I reach for a shooting star, burned a hole through my hand, it made its way to my heart, had fun in the promised land..." it’s a nice reprieve from the album’s darker moments.  Given that the album took over two and a half years to make, it’s fitting that the record includes ‘Kaleidoscope’, a song which references the lengthy recording process - "So lock me up in the studio, filling up with smoke and scenarios." - and the transformation of the band over the past few years. For me personally, this is one of the tracks on the album which I like more and more each time I hear it. ‘Kaleidoscope’ is followed by the song ‘This Is Home’ which brings the synths back, and has some perfect hand-clapping segments which will for sure go off when the song is played in a live setting. The guitar riffs in this song are some of the more brighter and chirpier sounding on the album and to me lyrically, it references the feeling many music fans experience - the feeling of being at home while at a concert: "Don’t stop the band is coming on... do you wanna let go, because this is home." ‘MH.4.18.2011’ provides perhaps the most memorable line of the entire album - "Stop living in the shadow of a helicopter." - and as the title suggests the song is pretty much all Mark. As one of the songs which was written after the band postponed their scheduled European tour, the song didn’t immediately stand out to me despite it being up-tempo and rather catchy, but I reckon it’ll be another grower. ‘Love Is Dangerous’ is for me the track which sounds most influenced by DeLonge’s band Angels & Airwaves, with spacey-synths noticeable behind the rest of the instrumentation. That said, the synths definitely add to the layers of the track which I could not resist bobbing my head to the entire time. It’s moments like this in the album which really show the progress the band has made; musically Blink-182 are just so much tighter than ever before and are definitely unafraid to experiment with their sound, or to let their individual influences shine through. In an interview with Alternative Press, DeLonge addresses any comparisons to Angels & Airwaves with the statement: "I knew there would be a lot of Angels & Airwaves comparisons, but that’s because I’ve been doing [Angels] for seven years straight now. I learned how to sing better, I learned how to produce, I learned how to do everything. So the idea that I was not going to use those skills would make my contribution to [Neighborhoods] terrible." ‘Fighting The Gravity’ takes the experimentation to a whole new level, with the track opening with a darker tone which is represented lyrically throughout much of the album but musically hadn’t appeared quite so vividly until now. In an interview with Billboard prior to the album’s release, Hoppus expressed that he had found it difficult to write upbeat and happy songs after the dark and often hard times the band had experienced in the years leading up to their reunion - think plane crashes, addiction, the death of loved ones and a battle with cancer - and this track is clearly an example of this. The album ends with ‘Even If She Falls’ - a track which could easily fit in with their previous work. It’s a nice shift from ‘Fighting The Gravity’ in that it isn’t quite so dark, but for an album closer I was personally hoping for something epic and really memorable and this song doesn’t quite live up to that hope.  It’s safe to say that this album is the darkest release to come from the pop-punkers who made their name for themselves running around naked and singing about "toasters in the bath". There are a few throw-backs to their older sound in ‘Natives’ and ‘Hearts All Gone’ which will be sure to keep fans looking for that nostalgic feeling of their youth happy, however I’m sure that for many Blink-182 fans who have grown up with the band and have joined them in their experiencing of depression, death of loved ones and hurt, this new found maturity will be as relatable as their past albums were. As Hoppus sang in their 1997 smash hit ‘Dammit’, "Well I guess this is growing up..." and fourteen years on, this line rings more true than ever, with ‘Neighborhoods’. Blink-182 have grown up and aren’t afraid to show it. MUST-LISTEN: 'Hearts All Gone', 'Natives', 'Up All Night', 'Wishing Well'. HEARTOMETER: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 [ out of 10 ] YOU WILL LIKE, IF YOU LIKE: Blink-182's 'Untitled' album, Angels & Airwaves, Box Car Racer, New Found Glory... and nostalgia. PRE-ORDER NOW: ITUNES / MARBECKS MUST-WATCH: Blink-182's 'Up All Night' music video... |
