Blink-182, the most popular pop punk band next to Greenday who is known for their fart jokes and funny songs. But it seems with the bands latest album they have matured a bit, musically that is as I went to one of their concerts back in June of 2004. They still talked about each others moms and used the F word with extreme prejudice. But about the album. I think it is the best musical album by Blink to date, I know a lot of people don’t like them but you should give this album a try. It has Tom Delonge with Vocals and Guitar, Toms riffs are heavier and darker then previous albums, and it seems he has improved from the basic 3 chord strum fest even venturing into a chorus in which he does not strum (Asthenia). Mark Hoppus is in charge of Vocals and Bass in this album, he has also improved with key bass songs like Here’s Your Letter and Always. Travis Barker is at the drums and does his best to date. The drums on this album are truly amazing, he does so much that you can go to any track and say “That’s some good drums!” In the long debated “Travis Barker or Tre Cool?” argument I think this album shows Travis is better as he lets go and really puts on a great performance. Blink 182 also shades away from their Into,Verse,Chorus,Into,Verse,Chorus,Interlude,Chor us,Outro formula and change it up a bit. The album in a whole did well getting 4 out of 5 stars from Rolling Stone Magazine and peaking at number 3 on the Billboard 200. With a number one hit in I Miss You and 3 hits including I Miss You in the top 10 (Billboard top 200) it looks like Blink’s latest and supposedly last (although I hope not) album did alright. Now here is a review of all 14 songs on the album.
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1. Feeling This(2:53)- The first single off the album is good one. The repetitive guitar riff is catchy and can stick in your head for hours. And the “I’m Feelin This!” yelled in-between lines in the verse is something good to pump you up if your about to play sport, even though the song was written about sex it can be used for anything. I’ve heard people use it as a friends, cleaning, even thinking song.
2. Obvious(2:43)- An angry guitar riff kicks this one off followed by loud drums and bass. The song is clearly about realizing your girl friend/spouse is cheating on you. The interlude is cool, you think it’s over then a strumming riff and back in with all the instruments, which is my favorite part of the song.
3. I Miss You(3:47)- The biggest hit off the album shows Blink’s newfound maturity, with no blasting guitar or a “wall of noise” the song is calm with well written lyrics like “Hello there, the angel from my nightmare the shadow in the background of the morgue the unsuspecting victim of darkness in the valley, we can live like Jack and Sally if we want” a step up from “He has fun fun fun and you might call him a whore, but just look where he's at 'cause he is the one that scores”(“Touchdown Boy” from Cheshire Cat) if you ask me. The song overall is a good one and a highlight of the album.
4. Violence(3:38)- It’s listed as 5:20 but I’m not counting the letter reading that will go with Stockholm Syndrome. The song starts off with heart beat like drums and a string bending guitar riff. It then ignites into a wave of sound. Then static fills the speakers as the verse starts which is just bass and drums and works perfectly for the song. It’s really nothing special on guitar just the 4 chord chorus, but it does have some nice drums in it as always.
5. Stockholm Syndrome(4:28)- The song starts off with a piano and a letter from Hoppus’ Grandmother to Grandfather during WWII. Then the song explodes, probably one of the heaviest tracks on the album. The guitar is good on this one showing Delonge’s improvement, with it matching the piano in the beginning. The lyrics are good also, as it’s about paranoia. The song is sung well with the harsh voice of Delonge then the more relaxed voice of Hoppus working off each other. Barker again shows up with good drums in a Blink-182 song that doesn’t sound a lot like the Blink-182 most people know.
6. Down(3:03)- Down kicks off with a repetitive guitar riff into the verse. The drums in this one are exceptional, the bass is notable too. The chorus has Hoppus repeating Down 8 or 9 times which does the job. Barker really does a good job and gets a chance to jam on the drums at the end as a piano plays a simple few notes and Barker shows what kind of a drummer he is.
7. The Fallen Interlude(2:12)- Great Drumming song, its like a continuation of Down but there is no verse or chorus its just a bass like and piano line repeated over again with some soft guitar added to produce an awesome song to put on and listen to in the dark. It could have run a bit longer like the live version but still is enjoyable. The only lyrics are said at the end which are “Down, down, down pick me up I’m falling” sung by Menno who also did the guitar work for the song.
8. Go (1:53)- Quite the opposite of The Fallen Interlude, Go starts way up tempo and doesn’t slow down for the 1:53 it lasts. It’s a good song about domestic abuse with Delonge yelling “Go Go, Go, Go, Go” and Hoppus repeating “I don’t wanna know” for the chorus. Simple yet effective.
9. Asthenia(4:19)- My personal favorite Asthenia starts out with a spacey sound and NASA transmissions being played during. The band then comes in with Delonge hitting a few simple notes on guitar. The song is written about a lonely astronaut in space asking himself Should I go back? Which is the main line in the chorus. A non strumming chorus in included a first for blink 182 I’m pretty sure. Some of the better Bass on the album is on this track as well.
10. Always(4:11)- Always the fourth single released by the band which never made it far as the band broke up soon after its release. It is reminiscent of old blink with simple power cords. It does have an 80’s sound which is pretty cool and inginuitive. The bass is really good on this song as it has Hoppus strumming the D and G string to create a guitar like sound on the bass. A good song with simple lyrics.
11. Easy Target(2:20)- The song starts out with drums then the guitar and bass follow it. It’s about a girl who uses you and makes fun of you even though you like her. It’s sort of an angry song with Hoppus singing “Let her slit my thought, giver her ammo and she’ll use it”
12. All of This(4:40)- A continuation of Easy Target, same song just slower and calmer. It stars Rob Smith of the Cure as guest vocals with Tom Delonge chiming in every once in a while singing “Use me holly come on and use me”. It uses a violen which works with the soft clean guitar, bass and drums. A good middle of the road song.
13. Here’s Your Letter(2:54)- A song about a troubled relationship that has a good bass line that starts the verse which the key as the guitar follows the bass instead of the other way around which is how it usually is with blink. Well written lyrics in a song perfect for Mark Hoppus’ voice.
14. I’m Lost Without You(6:20)- A slow blink-182 song? A blink-182 love song? Can it be true? I’m lost without you has Delonges voice singing behind a piano and some ringing bells. It takes a getting used to and hard core blink fans will probably hate it but it has a lot of different things in it. Its like an experiment, but it seems to be missing a few things a few key notes that were missed. But it all adds up to how the album ends. An awesome drum solo, Barker goes on with no backround for 40 seconds to end the album. Perfect ending for a great drumming album.
I really enjoyed this album, I think it was Blink-182’s best yet. And since I am a Blink 182 fan I may be a little biased in giving this a 4.5 but I really think it was great and should have been nominated for a grammy, not even like best album. But like best producing, it was really well produced. Well that’s my review on Blink 182’s untitled album hope you liked it and if you don’t like Blink’s old stuff I’d suggest you try this its really pretty good.
