Blink Returns to Your Neighborhood After Midnight

        To say people had high expectations for this album would be a huge understatement. As a big fan of Blink’s younger albums, my expectations were up there with most everyone else’s. So as you would imagine when I first put in the album “Neighborhoods” for a listen through I was surprised at the difference in sound from “Blink-182.” It’s not a bad difference but you can definitely hear a new maturity in this album that start back in the days of “Take Off Your Pants and Jacket” and slowly evolved since their self-titled album. The lead off track Ghost on the Dance Floor starts the album off with a nice drum beat slowing bringing up the guitar with a classic Blink sound to it. I must admit the first time I heard this album I was quite disappointed with the quality of the songs feeling they really weren’t the Blink-182 I had grown up with listening to. Sadly this is true, Blink is no longer what it used to be in regards to what they play but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Evolution is a simple part of every band and shows a progression from a simplest artist to a musical genius.
        The first single from the album “Up All Night” is a great introduction to the album itself as it shows of the power of Blink is still there but also adds a lot to how different this music is from older Blink by subtle things such as the vocals on the pre-chorus have an effect very reminiscence of Angels and Airwaves along with little space effect noises running throughout the song. The second single from the album is entitled, “Hearts All Gone” which someone mentioned to had a drum beat similar to a Rise Against song which is a great way to put it though I think a more accurate comparison is +44’s “Lycanthrope” mixed with “When Your Heart Stops Beating” which isn’t a bad thing it’s a song type Mark Hoppus does well but to get the full range of the song the Interlude must be given a listen to as it paints a musical picture that the lyrics capitalize on. The weakest song on the album has got to be “Fighting The Gravity” which is not a terrible song it just seems to drag and get caught up in a problem that some +44 songs had. It relies too heavily on creating space and dissonance in the vocals and music that can often make it seems a bit clustered.
     Besides that, this whole album is very well put together which should help re-solidify Blink-182 in the music mainstream. From songs such as “After Midnight” to “Love Is Dangerous” this whole album shows off that Blink-182 can still write just as well as they used to and compose a song that is not only pleasing for the ear but can also create an experience for the listener through the lyrical content and dynamics of the instruments.
             After all is said and done, I give Blink-182’s much anticipated “Neighborhoods” an 8 out of 10.

Songs To Download:
“Up All Night”

“After Midnight”
“Hearts All Gone”
Songs To Look Up:
“Snake Charmer”
“Kaleidoscope”
“Love Is Dangerous”
“Hearts All Gone Interlude”
Songs To Avoid:
“Fighting Gravity”