Hello nostalgia, our old friend. Marking the twenty-second year of their seminal career, Blink 182 are set to release their seventh studio album, California. The band is back and they’re ready to take you to where it all began.
California is the first album since the devastating extraction by founding member, Tom Delonge. After Delonge’s departure from the band, Alkaline Trio’s front man, Matt Skiba, stepped in.
Being close acquaintances with the band for some time – the transition felt natural for the former members. Although Skiba’s vocals are complimentary to the bands style there still feels like something is missing.
Two hit singles have already been released of the new record, ‘Bored To Death’ and ‘Rabbit Hole’. The album kicks off with the hit single, Bored To Death, immediately hitting us with the nostalgia bubble.
Whilst prevailing a new chapter for the band they’ve still kept in touch with their frenetic pop-punk sound, dissecting a blend of familiar instrumentals from past albums yet still preserving elements of originality.
It’s safe to say their punk legacy is still maintained, stabilising past roots from the band we grew-up with and grew to love.
Songs such as ‘Built This Pool’ and ‘Brohemian Rhapsody’ re-surface past tongue-in-cheek innuendo’s, familiarising us with earlier songs such as ‘Happy Holidays, You Bastard’ and random vocal skits from ‘The Mark, Tom and Travis Show.’
‘Brohemian Rhapsody’ being the last track on the album ends on a short note as Mark Hoppus inanely sings, “There’s something about you / I just can’t quite put my finger in.” These comical aspersions have been a conducive aid to the bands revival.
Being labelled as one of the most significant bands in punk history, Blink is our nostalgia, whether they have us reciting ‘Family Reunion’ like it’s the alphabet, sympathising with us about how much work sucks, to informing us that no one will like us when we’re twenty-three.
The punk trio will always be a vital commodity to the music world, and California is a generous example of that.
California is out July 1st, you can pre-order the record here.
