For the first time since 2011, the “crappy punk rock” band from Poway, California released an album with guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge.
On the day Blink-182 announced DeLonge was back in October 2022, they announced a world tour that wrapped up its U.S. portion in June 2023. In addition, they announced a new album, now titled “ONE MORE TIME…,” released a year later on Friday, Oct. 20.
After announcing DeLonge’s return, the band swiftly put out their new single with him, titled “EDGING,” only a few days later.
The band’s 10th album since its formation (not including “The Mark, Tom and Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back!) [Live]”) in 1992 is a deeply personal album that covers the turmoil they faced together throughout the years, such as with the title track “ONE MORE TIME”and songs about nostalgia from their younger days like “WHEN WE WERE YOUNG” and “CHILDHOOD.” It also features classic Blinkthemed songs that usually deal with topics such as immaturity, growing pains and dating like “DANCE WITH ME.”
“ONE MORE TIME…” sounds almost like a more mature version of their 2001 album “Take Off Your Pants and Jacket” combined with their self-titled album from 2003 crossed with “California” from 2016.
The album kicks off with “ANTHEM PART 3,”similar to their previous songs called “Anthem” and “Anthem Part Two.”
Right from the start, Barker’s drums are up front and center, leading the way through the album. While at times it can feel that the drums come off a little too strong, I felt it mostly works throughout the album.
The album weaves between soft-sounding and more fast-paced punk tracks, giving the listener a break from the more somber-themed songs or wildness of the other songs.
The trio also pays tribute to one of their influences, The Cure, by taking inspiration from The Cure’s song “Close to Me” off their 1985 album “The Head on the Door.” While odd at first and slightly different from the rest of the album, I found the sample worked after a few listens.
This is not the first time they have given a nod to The Cure; previously on Blink’s self-titled album from 2003, the band’s lead singer, Robert Smith, joined them for their song “All of This.” Songs like “TURN THIS OFF!” and
“F***FACE” offer the short, snappy, fast-paced classic punk music a lot of people are familiar with, with both songs clocking in at around 30 seconds each.
In an interview with Zane Lowe posted to the band’s YouTube on Oct. 18, they said it should not take tragedies to bring them back together. More recently, Mark Hoppus, the band’s bassist/vocalist, was diagnosed with cancer in 2021, and in 2008, Travis Barker, the band’s drummer, was involved in a plane crash.
The band initially went on an “indefinite” hiatus in 2005 after internal disagreements and conflicts between the trio. They reformed following the plane crash in 2008 and released their seventh album “Neighborhoods.”
Eventually, Delonge announced he was leaving the band in December 2014.
Some songs off the album landed in my liked song list on Spotify and maybe one or two in a playlist, but sadly not all did from the 17-track album. While stronger than the previous threealbums they released in 2011, 2016 and 2019, it doesn’t exactly hold up as the Blink album myself and possibly many others were hoping to get. But at the end of the day, the band is getting older and they aren’t exactly the young and immature punk rockers they used to be in the late 90s or early 2000s.
However, it is always nice to see the core group back together in full force and I can only hope they will do it again more than just one more time. It was great to hear a new addition to their discography with DeLonge after so many years.
Tim Bruns can be contacted at
tbruns@kscequinox.com
