blink-182: Neighborhoods
Maturity, growth, and The Cure seep through the pores of their "comeback" album.
One of the most exciting things about having been a music enthusiast most of my life is watching my favorite bands evolve. I’m not the kind of person who wants to see the same album written over and over again, so when an artist goes in a completely new direction, I’m here for it. Additionally, the new direction they take makes me appreciate their older work even more — the growth that’s hard to see until you have more context.
By the early 2000s, blink-182 had established themselves as one of the most successful punk bands of all time with staples such as Dude Ranch, Enema of the State, and Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. The songs that comprised these albums dealt with romance, heartbreak, youth, and everything in between. But, of course, Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge didn’t take themselves too seriously, often reminding us with songs like “Dick Lips,” “The Party Song,” and “Happy Holidays, You Bastard.” And with Travis Barker acting as the band’s glue behind the drum kit, they weren’t just the biggest band in the genre, they were also the most unique - a punk band with two lead vocalists and an absolute monster of a drummer doesn’t come around often.
In 2003, they released blink-182, their self-titled album that saw the band shift gears, to put it mildly. It incorporated elements of post-punk, post-hardcore, and new wave, and to this day stands as the most ambitious, experimental album in their catalog.
Unfortunately, the maturation we were seeing was put to a halt in 2005 when blink went on an indefinite hiatus. Given the tensions within the band, it felt more like a breakup, especially when the three went on to pursue new projects.
However, after Travis was involved in a near-fatal plane crash in 2008, the three reunited — first as friends, then as bandmates in 2009. Fast forward to 2011, and blink released their first album in eight years, Neighborhoods.
Neighborhoods feels like a step backward from the self-titled but a step forward from Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. It’s not as experimental, sonically speaking, but the maturity is quite noticeable given the darkness of the lyrical content. I think Neighborhoods has aged more gracefully than the majority of their catalog which is certainly not a knock on their early work, but rather a kudos to their artistic growth.
The singles from Neighborhoods alone are indicative of this. “Up All Night” opens with dizzying drumming and Angels & Airwaves-esque guitar effects before the drums and guitar really kick in, and blink sounds heavier than ever before we’re brought back to planet Earth with Mark and Tom trading vocal duties in the verses, sounding as “blink” as ever — it’s the most progressive-rock song blink has ever recorded. “After Midnight,” a mid-tempo love song, is one of the few bright moments on the album despite it being about, according to Mark Hoppus, “troubled love.” Like many songs that came before it, it’s simple and straightforward, but it’s proof that blink had matured as lyricists and songwriters.
I’ve become a big fan of The Cure only in the past decade. So when Neighborhoods was released, it wasn’t obvious to me how influential they were to blink, but it is now. The synthesizers on “Ghost on the Dance Floor” and “This is Home” are reminiscent of “Just Like Heaven.” “Heart’s All Gone Interlude” sounds like their version of “A Forest” while the intro on “Snake Charmer” pulls straight from the Disintegration playbook. But instead of simply regurgitating these ideas, they put their own spin on it and wear their influences on their sleeve tastefully — these are blink songs at their core.
These guys could write catchy songs in their sleep. So, of course, Neighborhoods wouldn’t be complete without these kinds of tunes even if they’re few and far between. “Natives,” “Heart’s All Gone,” and “MH 4.18.2011” wouldn’t necessarily fit comfortably on their earlier albums given the darkness that lurks in the shadows of Neighborhoods, but they’re earworms nonetheless.
blink-182 will forever be remembered for the albums that came before Neighborhoods, and that’s understandable. It doesn’t have the glossy pop-punk anthems, nor does it provide much comic relief. But, like the self-titled, it’s evidence that even blink-182, guys who sang about a man taking the seat off his own bike because of the way that it felt, were capable of evolving as they got older. I guess this is growing up.
If you’re interested in listening to some of my favorite blink-182 songs (as well as songs by other artists I’ve covered), check out my Spotify playlist!