By shelz.

Blink 182’s story is a cinematic tale of success, excess and heartbreak. As the band’s tensions reached code red, the split became inevitable. Their subsequent reunion was bittersweet, as the lines of communication only opened after the tragic death of long time producer, Jerry Finn and Travis Barker’s brush with death on a Learjet.  Misfortune tends to breed strength though, and the trio are back to prove that with their 6^th studio album Neighborhoods.

It will be seen as an abrupt left turn from where we last left the Mark, Tom and Travis show, but this progression should have been expected.  There were brief flashes of maturation on their last LP, plus you can only sing about your dick for so long.

The catharsis involved with creating this LP is written over every dark riff and morose couplet as the trio attempt to make sense of all of the calamity that has come their way.  Death, as well as anxiety and self-deprecation, hover over Neighborhoods, but the group manages to make the medicine go down with some really great musicianship and a-million-lighters-in-the-air hooks.

The perfect example is track number one, “Ghosts on the Dance Floor.”  The synth adds an ethereal feel to the track while the crew sheds a tear for the soldiers in sound that they have lost. DeLonge’s normally animated voice is affected by the weight of the song, but the build to the hook pushes the emotional vibe skyward.  There’s an odd thump that should have been buried better, but it’s still a great song. “Natives” wraps a story of being a problem child in speedy, stabbing riffs and Barker’s kit takes a serious beating. The fans that can’t just let go-go of the bands earlier work will enjoy this as much as “Hearts All Gone.”

Relationships get the once over with a more grown-up vibe as well.  “Snake Charmer” (okay maybe they aren’t too old to toss in a dick reference) opens with a great, sexy bassline while DeLonge bemoans being caught in the web of a good girl who likes to sin. Silent evil daughters he calls them. I read bitter between the lines. The end is unexpected and smooth like the hustler.  Nice. Men get the raised eyebrow in “Love Is Dangerous,” a song that acknowledges what women have been saying for years.  Wanting the milk without buying the cow is just a case of intimacy fear.  Haaa! We knew it.  The great point of this song is lost in the snoozy synth-fueled track.  This is the closest the band gets to filler.

“This is Home’ waxes nostalgic about the youth that was wasted on them when they were young.  “MH 4.18.2011” sounds like the play by play of a COPS episode and “After Midnight” is kind of boring, but a progressive piece near the end of the track list, “Fighting Gravity,” steals the show. A slow, stalking, hazy intro opens into some weeping, layered guitars and vocals. The collage of mottled sounds is really quite interesting and as far away from taking off your pants and jacket as you can get.  This is almost like the cliff hanger that promises a future episode. Blink probably won’t build on this sound, but they should.

We’ve watched Delonge, Hoppus and Barker grow from silly youthful angst-filled purveyors of enema jokes to fathers and husbands bringing a more thoughtful, brooding palette.  Neighborhoods is dark, yes, but this crew has walked through the bellies of several beasts.  The reflection is understandable. There are flashes of that jejune wink sprinkled here and there, but the LP predominately carries the mature sound the trio was moving towards when it all went south. This is where they should be. It’s been a long journey to this side of adolescence and fans will be glad they made it.

out of 5

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