blink-182 - Dogs Eating Dogs (2012)
So apparently (or "p'narately" if you're my brother's ex-roommate from Mexico whose jacket I lost in a movie theater in 2006, and I'm STILL sorry about it!!) they realized it was a huge mistake to record in separate studios, so they managed to get time to just HUNKER ON DOWN in a studio, the three sassy lads back together once again, and it seems to have worked out well in their favor, but sadly, just like "Neighborhoods", it's good, but there's a catch equivalent to me grabbing your dick while you're pissing at a urinal: They still haven't worked out their differences!! And I have shakey hands (essential tremors) so that combined with you being scared would probably get piss EVERYWHERE. It'd look like the aftermath of some Swedish porn.
I'll say that all five songs on this EP are pretty good, not exactly -great- (unless we're talking about the MASSIVELY Angels & Airwaves influenced "Disaster" which is pretty fuckin' perfect if I'm being honest with you, and coincidentally, I am) but it's suffering from the same issue that "Neighborhoods" did in the way that it sounds more like a clash of ideas with Tom DeLonge at the front-end of nearly every decision, who can't really remember how to write a blink-182 song anymore, despite having a great songwriter (Mark Hoppus) and a phenomenal drummer (Travis Barker) by his side. All but two of the five songs on here have moderate Angels & Airwaves influence, or like I said previously, one of which ("Disaster") being a phenomenal song that flirts TOO MUCH with the AVA sound.
"When I Was Young" is pretty good and I can relate to the lyrics, with the chorus of "It's the worst damn day of my life! (It doesn't hurt that much) I made a mess today, but I'm alright! (It doesn't hurt that much)" making me flash back to older times, which is kinda cool and kinda shitty at the same time because as I've mentioned before, being a teenager fucking sucked! Anyway, the title track sounds like it could've been a +44 song and has a great chorus by Tom DeLonge, and "Boxing Day" is a really chill acoustic jam, but then you get to "Pretty Little Girl (Feat. Yelawolf)", which, yes, you read right: FEATURES YELAWOLF. I guess because of his collaborations with Travis Barker but the entire song is just the usual awkward "TEENAGERS IN LOVE" thing that Tom DeLonge is obsessed with until Yelawolf comes in out of nowhere, and I'm saying this as a moderate fan of Yelawolf, delivers a really awkward verse that doesn't really fit the song.
All together, it's a pretty neat and compact collection of blink-182 songs, but even more than before, I found myself asking myself when I first listened to it when it came out "Are some of these really blink-182 songs, or some Angels & Airwaves songs that Tom DeLonge wrote and then let Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker in on?" even more than I thought for "Neighborhoods". Good songs, awkward execution, pacing, and all that stuff.
But seriously, if you stand next to me at a urinal, I (probably) won't grab your dick unless I'm congratulating you like "Great game out there!" and you aren't even a member of the team. MD 20/20 makes a man do crazy things.
7/10
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Feel free to check out the song previews/buy this album using my Amazon Associate link!
