Blink 182 - Neighborhoods (Album)
The Blink 182 reunion will have some people wondering why it took so long while others have moved on/don’t care and only have “Dammit” left to say. “Neighborhoods” is the trio’s sixth studio album, their first in eight years and one the group produced by themselves, following the death of their producer/advisor and friend, Jerry Finn, from a cerebral hemorrhage in 2008.
A lot has happened in eight years. There was the near-death of drummer, Travis Barker; the overdose of their friend, Adam Goldstein (AKA DJ AM); and a skin cancer diagnosis and remission for guitarist, Tom DeLonge. But it seemed like these tragedies needed to occur for the three to re-establish their friendships and realise that bickering and differences cannot erase 17 years worth of history.
It has been said that the band grew up on their eponymous effort in 2003 because it was brimming with depth and experimentation. “Neighborhoods” builds on this idea as the music created marries up the different aesthetics the individuals bring to the band; namely, stadium rock, hip-hop and weird indie rock.
At times it feels like the 14 tracks on the deluxe edition play more like “The Mark, Tom and Travis Show” insofar as things can be too focused on the individuals rather than the sum of their parts and this makes for rather disjointed listening. It should come as no surprise that the three worked in separate studios for the most part and it feels like each member is contributing to the effort by bringing in their experiences with their respective side project and saying, “Look at what I’ve learnt”. This wouldn’t be bad for three solo albums but it hardly makes for a cohesive band endeavour. Then again, this could have been what was required to alleviate the tension post-post-breakup because often the sounds are like a bittersweet, sonic cacophony. Heck, even the boys called the project: “Ambitious, weird and explosive”.
“Ghosts On The Dance Floor” is about sharing a song with someone who’s passed on. It uses chiming melodies, synth and electronic flourishes and stirs well with grinding guitars. Single, “Up All Night” was one of the first to be pumped out by the boys and is markedly heavier with Grinspoon-style guitars before “After Midnight” offers an Incubus-inspired “I Miss You Mark II”.
There is a diversion to a bible study lesson in “Snake Charmer,” a sinister work using Adam & Eve as inspiration. It combines the theology with a rumbling bass and music that is at times similar to Korn’s “Freak On A Leash”. There are some guitars that could have been performed by Chris Cheney of The Living End on “Heart’s All Gone” while “MH 4.18.2011” is riffing on old-school Blink-182. This proves an interesting prospect when you consider that it’s the earlier, “Kaleidoscope” that sums up the band’s transformation.
On “Neighborhoods” Blink-182 are defiant, tackling their tragedies head-on to produce a cathartic record where there are lots of dark and pessimistic lyrics about: isolation, death, frustration, despair and confusion. The trio are no longer snotty, punk brats (because hell, they’re too busy raising their own kids now). But you may ask, “What is left of the teen angst from before?” Well, it seems like they can continue to tackle this but it has to be via the medium of experience that comes with the territory of being in your middle age.
“Neighborhoods” is an album that is going to polarise people. Fans of the self-titled effort will love it while fans of their earlier work won’t enjoy things so much. It is essentially one gritty, serious and bleak affair and as far as homes go you probably wouldn’t want to live there. But the explosions of greatness to be found among the scenes of raggedness and dilapidation make for a good comeback effort that you certainly wouldn’t mind visiting every once in a while.
