‘One More Time’ by Blink 182 – Album review
As a teenager I was a big fan of Blink 182, so I was delighted when Tom Delonge announced his comeback. A new album by the original line-up. Since 2012 things have changed for them, so how did that affect their songwriting and themes? Do they still sing about teenage problems and silly stuff?
The album starts with ‘Anthem 3’, an old school punk rock song. Exactly the sound and energy I expect from a band like Blink 182. The guitars are powerful and you can hear Tom’s back. It’s an energetic start and you can hear that Tom and Mark have come to terms with each other… ‘My old shit ends here tonight’.
‘Dance With Me’ is happy catchy song and I see the audience singing along at the gigs. Still, it feels a bit cheesy. Maybe it’s the ‘ole ole ole’ part? Something feels off. But it’s not a bad song and they keep the energy moving along nicely.
They slow down on ‘Fell in Love’. Where the first two songs were an ode to their glory days, this sounds like most modern pop-punk songs. But, the energy comes back on ‘Terrified’ and you can feel Mark’s battle with cancer as you hear the lyrics. You can’t deny it’s the theme throughout the album, especially, when on ‘One More Time’ Mark and Tom describe their friendship. It’s by far one of their best lyrics so far and reminds me of ‘Adam’s Song’. Between all the up-tempo punk rock songs, it’s an emotional break – and proof that they did grow up.
The distorted guitars and Travis’ out of this world drum beats continue on ‘More Than You’ and ‘When We Were Young’. The only thing that’s a bit obvious is the autotune on Tom’s vocals and in ‘Edging’ the vocals sound a bit too polished. This is meant to be punk rock! But, it’s a trend you see in a lot of modern rock.
The end of the album continues to satisfy my 90s and early 00s nostalgia. They said goodbye to their youth and they left their old shit behind. It’s a great comeback and it’s certainly a good album. Let’s hope there’s another one more time after this!
