The Blink 182 most people know are not here anymore because their sound has changed dramatically. Long gone are the days of adolescent punk songs like “Dammit” and “M&M’s”, Blink’s new sound is much more mature and “mainstream”. Usually the words mainstream and Blink 182 would not go well together, but Tom, Travis and Mark have made a great combination of their unique sound and the style of music that is popular today. Tom sounds much more like himself when in Angels & Airwaves rather than when he was in Blink, his voice doesn't really fit with the sound, but I'm hopeful he will adjust. Mark and Travis are still the same awesome guys we've known since "Cheshire Cat".
Overall I would give this album 8/10 because the quality is good, especially for a group of guys that had been on a hiatus for such a lengthy time. My favourite songs are “Ghost on the Dancefloor”, “Even if she falls” and “Hearts all gone”. The album will not blow anyone’s mind out of the water, but it is still a good, solid attempt. While I hope in the future that Blink will return to their old punk rock ways, I believe this style of music is a sign of them growing up, which as painful as it is to say, happened a long time ago.
I am disappointed to see Blink move completely away from their previous punk rock sound (yeah, thanks Tom DeLonge) but I am thankful they are back together and writing music once again. Tom is clearly the link in the band, as in if he quits Blink falls apart so Travis and Mark have to adapt to his style of music. As a result, “Neighborhoods” is a very eccentric and cinematic style of music unknown to Blink fans before this new album.
Attached are the music videos for the songs "After Midnight" and "Up All Night" respectively.
