BLINK-182: California (ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

"California" is likely to be a landmark in the eventful history of Blink 182. Its illustrious co-founder Tom DeLonge was (temporarily) excluded from the group for reasons of mood incompatibility. A new singer-guitarist has been found in the person of Matt Skyba (from the Illinois punk trio Alkaline Trio). With this new album, which pays tribute to his original state, can Blink 182 hope to regain altitude?

As soon as the first track is introduced, the listener seems to be on familiar ground. Mark Hoppus' sweet voice brings us the freshness of a fountain of youth. The introduction of "Bored To Death" recalls the memory of "Feeling This", the potache spirit is found on the short "Built The Pool" and on "Brohemian Rhapsody", the anger on "No Future" or even unstoppable riffs on "Kings Of The Week-End" or "Explicit Rabbit Hole". The short pieces mix with the long pieces of... three minutes fifty-six (this is punk). The band seems to be looking less for subtlety than for the immediate, as shown by some redundant tracks ('She's Out Of Her Mind').

However, Blink 182 innovates by venturing into terrain that he had not often explored. The adventurous "Los Angeles" creates a mysterious atmosphere magnified by the Alabama Parker piano and by the excellent work of the two vocalists. The ballads "Home Is Such A Lonely Place" and "California" also recall the melodic capacities of the group, too often underestimated as a punk band (just like Green Day, but unlike Good Charlotte). As for the newcomer's voice, it owes nothing to his predecessor ('Sober' co-written by Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy, or on 'Left Alone') and has found in Mark Hoppus a vocal accomplice ('Bored To Death'). The lyrics are a little more intimate, like the existential "Teenage Satellites", or retrospectives on "San Diego", which evokes with pain common memories with Tom DeLonge.

At first glance, the bet was risky to find an original sound without one of its founding members. However, the Californian group didn't lost anything in the change, and better still, found a new youth. The release of his new album and his single "Bored To Death" shows that the band's potential, even if amputated, is intact. - Official website

BLINK-182

CALIFORNIA

BMG

ROCK