blink-182 - California (2016)
Sometime after the last EP, Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker had gotten fed up of just how much Tom DeLonge was neglecting blink-182 to put out releases in Angels & Airwaves, write books, and chase aliens around while saying shit to the public like "I've been talking to some very important people and know secrets about this kind of stuff, you won't believe it" because if there's ONE person the government has to let know about extraterrestrial life, it's going to be a guy from blink-182, right? Sounds like he really wasn't fucking around when he wrote "Aliens Exist" back in the day. So anyway, Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker did what was best for them and kicked his ass to the curb! When Tom DeLonge came over for their weekly sleep-over to play GoldenEye 64, he noticed through the window that his sleeping bag had been taken by someone else... ALKALINE TRIO'S MATT SKIBA!!
"Who the FUCK is Matt Skiba?" Some fans asked when he was announced to be Tom DeLonge's replacement, and yeah, they naturally have reason to be nervous and shaking like a dog shitting razor blades at the thought of Tom DeLonge, the beloved misunderstood joker not being in the band anymore, but holy shit, this is the absolute best thing to have happened to the band since 2003. Matt Skiba never comes across as a Tom DeLonge-clone, and sounds fucking AWESOME! He can sing better than Tom DeLonge, and with his certain inflections in his voice, has a really distinctive singing style, comparable to sounding like an elegant and classy but rambunctious punk, and damn does he bring the HEAT on this album! Mark Hoppus' and Tom DeLonge's voices were interesting in the way that they're night-and-day but it was unfortunately relatively rare that you got to hear them sing together on the same song, but Mark Hoppus and Matt Skiba sing with each other on nearly every song on here, which makes the songs vocally almost sound like the equivalent of a beautiful picture: Mark's familiar voice draws the lines, and Matt's voice colors them in. It's such a gorgeous contrast and the musical chemistry they have is awesome!
This new addition of Matt Skiba plus the new producer John Feldmann (of Goldfinger fame) breathes new life into the band, and also makes this album one of my favorite things on paper: Mark Hoppus' excellent charisma, Travis Barker's phenomenal drumming, Matt Skiba's great songwriting, and John Feldmann's classic ear for melodies/production, which, like I said, sounds great on paper... AND SOUNDS EVEN FUCKING BETTER IN MY HEADPHONES!!! I legitimately can't believe that this album is so fucking good that I'm still in a "Holy shit, new blink-182 album!!" moment of happiness even a month after it's come out and I've given the album a shitload of spins since, and the hype doesn't come from the fact that it's new, but that this album is honestly really damn good!!
For the first time since 2001's "Take Off Your Pants and Jacket", blink-182 is -FUN- again!! They're no longer trying to reinvent themselves as "real musicians" and pushing the envelope as they try to expand their sound (thanks to Tom DeLonge at the wheel), but instead, focusing on the pure fun factor of the music. This album essentially sounds like this lovable trio of middle-aged guys discovered the fountain of youth and drank their own weights in it until it had run dry, and the guys sound genuinely happy to be making and playing new music, finally in a creative direction they want to go. Just listen to the incredibly happy "Kings of the Weekend" and try to NOT hear the enormous smile on Mark Hoppus' face as he triumphantly sings "HERE WE GOOO!!! 'CAUSE WE'VE GOT NO CONTROOOL!!!" in excitement when talking about waiting to finally let loose and have fun at a local punk rock show at the end of the week, reflecting on his younger days. The man has blink-182 running like a train in his veins and is the band's biggest fan, so now that we finally have another album where it sounds like he has a huge hand in the music, it's honestly fucking incredible.
This is one of those reviews where it's actually REALLY hard to write because I just love this album too damn much. I'm too excited even just writing this because of what an excellent return to form it is. I could go on about every single song on here, from the "Dude Ranch"-era "Cynical", to the infectiously catchy "She's Out of Her Mind", to the poppy straight-to-radio "Sober", to the INCREDIBLE "Left Alone", but if you have to take anything from this, just know that if you're a fan, this album has everything you've come to love blink-182 for, with none of Tom DeLonge's yodeling about teenage love to be found. I've heard every single blink-182 release and I've got to admit: At this point in time, this very may well be my absolute favorite release of the year because of its quality, its catchiness, its youth, and it sounds like pretty much every blink-182 album thrown into one. There's something for every fan here, unless they're a hardcore Tom DeLonge fanboy/fangirl that hasn't noticed how badly he's been fucking up in his own band for the past seven years, who complain that "the new blink-182 album is so poppy, ugh" which is stupid because they always have been one of the poppiest bands alive. Remember "All the Small Things"? "What's My Age Again"? PRACTICALLY ALL OF THEIR MUSIC FROM THE ALBUMS YOU REGULARLY LISTEN TO?? They're blink-182 fans that hate blink-182's music..? Odd.
I was cautious to not get my hopes up for this album too much, given that I'm often disappointed by albums when I get too excited for them, but honestly, it reached everything that I wanted it to be, and even -needed- it to be lyrically. It's not some ultra-technical prog-metal album, or some other shit that'll blow your mind, but it's a damn fun time with some deep lyrics ("San Diego", "California", and of course "Built This Pool") and that's all I wanted from these guys. This is what we all wanted "Neighborhoods" to be. Anyone who expected anything else, or will go into it with the intention of hating it will probably be disappointed, but anyone who wants to feel fifteen again (in a good way) will be hard-pressed to find anything better for it in this day-and-age. So really, here's to you, "California", for showing me that even after all of these years, while things have changed, some people never will.. For the better. For the best. Their book hasn't ended yet, they're just writing a new chapter.
Long live blink-182, the true and undisputed kings of the weekend.
8/10 ________________________________________________________
Feel free to check out the song previews/buy this album using my Amazon Associate link!
