B link-182 is perhaps, the definition of a "love them or hate them" group. The band formed in the early 90s and reached great commercial success by the end of the decade when they released their most famous album, "Enema of the State", just in time to capitalize on the burgeoning trend of snotty suburban pop punk kick-started by Green Day.
Today, the trio, consisting of bassist Mark Hoppus, guitarist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker, has tons of fans that adore their irresistibly catchy power-pop odes to immaturity ("What's My Age Again?") and young love ("First Date"). Blink-182 also has plenty of sworn enemies, mostly consisting of people that subscribe more strictly to the socially conscious and anti-commercial punk rock ethos, who see the threesome as sellout pop-stars who besmirch the very name of "punk" by association, along with their peers like Green Day and Sum-41.
Personally, I've never held that much of a grudge against the group, although admittedly they aren't really my kind of music. I do think that the main criticism against them is flawed at the core. Saying that they are a disgrace to punk is unfair; they never had any pretensions about being socially conscious or indie. They were always more of a pop band at the core, who got unfairly lumped in with a musical movement that did have punk pretensions, and was often ingenuine. And besides punk and pop have always been closely linked from the very start. Just look at The Ramones; they had a great affinity for poppy melodies and like Blink-182, many of their songs were goofy and not particularly socially conscious ("I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend," anyone?).
The forefathers of the pop-punk movement, the Descendants, have plenty of credibility as a legitimate hardcore band, but they incorporated pop-centric melodies and paeans to suburban living into their music (all Blink-182 fans should go out and buy the Descendant's album "Milo Goes to College,", by the way, and find out what original, raw, pop-punk sounds like). I think that, while Blink-182 may not be as respected or as good as the punk bands they aspire to be like, they don't deserve immediate hatred.
Blink-182's latest release, the 10-track "Neighborhoods" is a sporadically mediocre but occasionally rewarding album. It's evident from the experimental but weak opener "Ghost on the Dance Floor" that Blink-182 is going for a more moody and serious feel than previous efforts, expanding on the polished and gloomy vibes of their eponymous last album. But honestly, it's difficult to take cornball lines like, "When our song was slowly starting, your memory felt so real," seriously; they end up taking away from the song's rewarding Cure-like accents.
The songs are best when they aren't pandering or obscure. Clunkers like "Up All Night" that attempt to balance head-banging attitude and inspirational lyrics completely flop. And the album's synth-heavy closer "Love is Dangerous" is unbearably cheesy and sounds like it was custom made for background music at the mall. Seriously, it's really bad, it makes me want to shake them and say, "if you want anyone to take you seriously, you can't sound like Metro Station".
"Neighborhoods" does have its moments though. Blink-182 has always attempted to capture the pains of growing up, with limited success, but on this album they are surprisingly deep and transcendent. "Natives" is a self-loathing anthem that sports impressively sharp lines like, "we'll have the time of our lives, although we're dying inside"- again, it's not a new sentiment, but it's surprising coming from a band that used to just be about simply having the time of their lives, giving little care to any sort of "dying". The chorus of "Kaleidoscope" is a touchingly introspective musing on growing older, with the band declaring, "It's the first time, that I worry, of a bad dream, of a journey"- and the album's highlight "After Midnight" is an endearingly sweet and typically catchy love song in the vein of "First Date,"- only this time with a more melancholy vibe.
Blink-182's more serious direction is not surprising. Drummer Travis Barker almost died in a plane crash and friend of the band DJ AM, -who was on the plane- passed away in 2009 of a drug overdose (his name appears on the album cover). The shift in tone is a good idea. No one wants to hear these guys making dirty jokes and talking about partying anymore, they are far too old and uncool. Odes to the melancholy of growing up, however, are welcomed. The band is also honing a more experimental sound that works to varying degrees (the flanging effect on the drums in "Up All Night" is unnecessary). But you know, change is good, so this reviewer completely approves of the band's attempts at a new artistic direction, even if it does have its misguided moments.
"Neighborhoods" is not a perfect album at all. Many of the songs sound really similar, the tunes aren't as sharp or well-crafted as Blink-182's earlier work, and Hoppus's and DeLonge's extreme, sneering, accents are still insufferable. But ultimately it's kind of hard to hate "Neighborhoods". I'll be totally honest, I was ready to rip this album apart after the first listen, but the more I heard it the more its attempts at maturity and introspection began to make it much more endearing and listenable. Would I suggest buying the album? Only if you like the band, otherwise you'll probably despise it. If you do like the band I recommend a listen or two, I think you'll find it rewarding. At the very least it looks as though Blink-182 is not about to fade away any time soon. If they keep on expanding their ideas at this rate, these ex-bratty growing-pain rockers could one day become unexpected elder statesmen.
