Source: Album Cover
Well summertime is officially here and what better way to fuel the long days of sunshine and antics with a new record from Blink 182.
Blink are pretty much the biggest pop punk band, influencing teens across the globe with rebellious punk anthems full of attitude and dick jokes. California is band’s the seventh studio and their first in five years following 2011’s Neighborhoods. We could give you the whole: “oh yeah! Blink 182 are back” sunshine and rainbows hype builder, but the thing is we were dubious heading into California, what with the departure of long time member Tom DeLonge and Alkaline Trio frontman Matt Skiba being recruited in his place. Not that we’ve got anything against Skiba, but such a drastic change to the Blink formula naturally raised our collective guard.
Thankfully though, opening track ‘Cynical’ acts as a very traditional and true to form introduction to album number 7 featuring dual vocals from Mark Hoppus and his new bandmate and of course a lightning fast drum track from resident skin smasher Travis Barker. For the most part, California doesn’t seem to stray away from the sounds and stylings that we’ve come to expect from Blink 182. ‘She’s Out Of Her Mind’ and ‘Kings Of The Weekend’ are both packed with the typical Blink buzz we’ve grown to expect with each release, however there are tracks which put a spin on the sound in efforts to keep the record sounding fresh. Efforts that we’ll add are all very successful. ‘Los Angeles’ slows things down a little, all while delivering a more intense and impactful vocal performance.
‘Home Is Such A Lonely Place’ is definitely California’s emotive number. You know the track that will be the soundtrack to countless gloomy days and teenage heartbreaks. Every pop punk album has one. Ah, young love. Balancing the track list is something Blink 182 has done exquisitely with his release. California has: giggles, feels and power are all rolled into one, with each tracking complementing the rest. All in all then a very diverse and well-written record indeed.
Although faults were difficult to find with California, it was like a turkey shoot for highs with stand out tracks for us being ‘Left Alone’, ‘San Diego’ and ‘The Only Thing That Matters’. We had a really good time this record, which in itself is something we honestly weren’t expecting. California will be a record we blast to the sunny skies for the majority of the summertime fun. With our final point being that ‘Brohemian Rhapsody’ is just genius!
