The boys at Blink-182 are back with what some would consider a landmark pop-punk album. The production is better, song-writing skills have improved, both Mark Hoppus and Tom Delonge can sing better now, and they ditched their old drummer, Scott Raynor, because of his addiction to alcohol and difficulty in working with, for a new drummer by the name of Travis Barker, who has become the most iconic drummer in pop-punk.
They're back in the studio, and this is their best sounding album yet, in terms of both production, but also song quality. Travis Barker seems like he brought a certain amount of creative energy to the group, and he's just a better drummer than Scott Raynor ever was. The feeling this album gives off between the trio is very light-hearted, these guys are all best friends, and it shows in the energy. It's hard to explain. Mark and Tom go great together now, and Travis is there to back them up with fast and accurate drumming.Is Travis the best drummer ever? Nope. Not even close. But he's far from being the worst. He's a fast drummer that fits the band perfectly. Scott Raynor wasn't a bad drummer, but all of his drumlines were basically the same, and relatively basic, while Travis tries to mix his up a bit, and is pretty fast about it.
One of the biggest changes from this album to the last is that now Mark and Tom can actually sing. Tom's voice isn't strained or raspy at all now, with him taking over vocals in 'All The Small Things' with absolute ease. One of the things that is very crucial to Blink-182's sound is Tom's unique voice, and this album is where he really develops it for future use. Mark's voice isn't the most unique around, but serves as a great contrast to Tom's, and in a way, I think I actually prefer Mark's voice to Tom's.
Onto the songs, they're better produced, and catchier than ever before, with some silly tunes, and even some more serious songs thrown in for good measure. I don't think anyone knew they would do a serious song, 'Adam's Song', done with such emotion, about a boy just giving up on life and wanting to kill himself, but something's so genuine about it. It isn't all "Woe is me" that songs about the subject have seemed to revolve around, but actual genuine sadness, possibly inspired by a time period in Mark's life, and of course the profanity-ridden 'Dysentery Gary' about Tom's frustration with girls, with Tom even yelling "Your mom's a whore!" near the end.
Is it a serious-themed album? Definitely not, as evidenced most obviously by two songs, one being 'What's My Age Again?' sung by Mark about doing stupid and immature stuff at the age of 23 when everyone expects him to be all grown up, and the now-classic in the Blink-182 fanbase community 'Aliens Exist' sung by Tom about being a child and believing in aliens.
While the songs are catchy, what about the overall substance of the album? While I do believe it can get old, and people can outgrow it due to getting bored of it, or because of its at-times immature lyrics, I do also believe it is a staple for the pop-punk genre, as this helped bridge the gap into the mainstream, and influenced many modern pop-punk bands.
Am I a huge fan of it? No. Do I dislike it? Not at all. I've never been a big lover of their music, but the majority of their albums are good in their own way. Overlooking these guys based off of their fanbase, or their singles is a stupid thing to do if you like the style of music they do. Give this a look sometime if so, because this is arguably their definitive album.
7/10
Recommended track(s): Dumpweed, Don't Leave Me
