blink-182 - Blink-182 (CD)

All Music Guide

There comes a time in every punk's life where he or she has to grow up, or at least acknowledge that maturity is just around the corner. blink182 put it off for as long as they could, but ten years into their career and two albums after their big breakthrough, 1999's Enema of the State, they decided to make a stab at being grownups for their eponymous sixth studio album. As with many selftitled albums, the trio uses this as an attempt to redefine itself, and they have considerably expanded both their sonic template and lyrical outlook on blink182. They're still rooted in punkpop, but even songs that stretch no further than that sound are a little darker, a little restless, reflecting the overall mood of the record. In shorthand, this is the record where blink182 delve into postpunk, opting for some appealingly sullen moodiness, offkilter hooks, lots of sonic textures, and even a duet with the Cure's Robert Smith. Since the trio is an inherently catchy group, this is a far cry from neop...ostpunk groups like Interpol or even the dynamically hooky Hot Hot Heat, but there is a greater variety of sounds on blink182 than on any of the trio's other albums, and the songwriting is similarly adventurous, alternating punchy, impassioned punkpop with weirder, atmospheric pieces like "Down" and "I'm Lost Without You." If nothing on the album has the immediate impact of "All the Small Things" though the opener, "Feeling This," comes close and if, on the whole, blink182 isn't as bracing or visceral as Dude Ranch or Enema, so be it: there's more to explore on this album than any of their other records. It's an unexpected and welcome maturation from a band that just an album ago seemed permanently stuck in juvenalia. - Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide Read more Less