Millennials have been faced with a bit of an identity crisis. The things they once loved, and in many cases still hold dear, have recently become the subject of frequent and ruthless ridicule by the younger Gen Z. The "millennial pause." The death of skinny jeans. The now-embarrassing obsessions with Hogwarts houses, finger 'staches, dogespeak, Boomerangs, the Harlem Shake. Millennials are uncool. Millennials are cheugy. Millennials are cringe.
At the same time, the music of the late '90s and early 2000s has seen an unexpected resurgence. The success of Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eillish, Yungblud and Willow Smith has prompted some to throw around the term "pop-punk revival," as these Gen Z pop stars represent a sizable faction of the younger generation obsessed with millennial touchstones like Paramore, My Chemical Romance, Avril Lavigne, Fall Out Boy and Green Day. Scroll through TikTok enough and you'll find teenagers wishing they had been lucky enough to have grown up in the emo era of fringe haircuts, skinny jeans, studded belts and Warped Tour. (It's worth reminding these kids that those who actually did partake in this fashion trend tended to be ruthlessly bullied and, in some cases, clinically depressed.)
Into this moment in pop culture steps blink-182, arguably the long-reigning kings of pop-punk. Here, they're riding not only the wave of the genre's so-called revival, but also a fan frenzy over the reunion of their classic lineup following the return of founding member Tom DeLonge. They've got fans in their thirties who are thrilled to throw on their nostalgia goggles, plus a younger demo that loves prime blink-182 the way a '90s kid might've loved prime Led Zeppelin. As Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker pressed on after DeLonge's departure in 2015 and released the pretty good California and the pretty bad Nine, Alkaline Trio's Matt Skiba did a genuinely admirable job of filling the vacancy on guitar and vocals. But real ones knew that blink-182 was meant to be the Mark, Tom and Travis Show. And here they are.
As the classic lineup's first album together since 2011's Neighborhoods, ONE MORE TIME… is positioned to leverage a near-nuclear level of nostalgia. The band seem to recognize that, as they open the record with "ANTHEM PART 3," drawing a direct line back to Enema of the State closer "Anthem" and Take Off Your Pants and Jacket opener "Anthem, Pt. 2." Beyond just the title, this third song in the series is intentionally written to elicit flashbacks: it kicks off with almost exactly the same chugs and arpeggios as "Anthem, Pt. 2." It's a fun callback, but it also feels like fan service. Besides, "Anthem, Pt. 2" didn't sound anything like the first one. Why should the third part mimic the second? Fortunately, the similarities mostly end after the first 30 seconds as the band rips into a fast-paced, high-flying act of melodic punk, with DeLonge and Hoppus trading off encouraging words for anyone who feels hopeless, stagnant and complacent and needs a push to get up and do something about it. After one song, blink-182 already sound more exciting and inspired than they have in years.
Across the rest of the 17 tracks on ONE MORE TIME…, the band puts forward an effort that's uneven and imperfect, but admirably built to stand on its own. At a time when blink-182 could have done the easy thing and followed the 20th anniversaries of their three biggest albums with a reunion record that simply repackages that same sound in what would likely have been a superficially gratifying way, they made a record that feels like a continuation, not a rehash.
Songs like "MORE THAN YOU KNOW" and "WHEN WE WERE YOUNG" are among the best at recapturing the magic of classic blink-182, but injected with a new, current energy. These songs basically pick up where they left off with their untitled album from 2003 — the one that contained enduringly popular hits like "I Miss You" and "Feeling This" — which, given the piecemeal approach to making Neighborhoods, marks the last time that DeLonge, Hoppus and Barker had worked fully and collaboratively on a project. "TERRIFIED" starts out like a straight-up time machine back to the moody, atmospheric sound of songs like "Down" and "Obvious," but then they subvert expectations by suddenly shifting — granted, a little awkwardly — into a major-key pop chorus. (This song also features a chunky, metallic guitar riff that sounds like it could be a leftover from Boxcar Racer, but if we're being truly honest, it actually sounds like Limp Bizkit's "Break Stuff.") Drawing from other corners of their history and influences, "BLINK WAVE" shows the band's love of synthy '80s post-punk and features some trademark Travis Barker drum beats, while "FUCK FACE" finds them trying out a bit of old-school hardcore punk.
The album's weakest links have to be "DANCE WITH ME" and "EDGING," which reveal the limitations of being an aging pop-punk band with an established mastery of the songwriting craft but a lack of authentic youthful spunk; they're both full of catchy hooks that should be great on paper, but they come off corny, lyrically and musically, when they're missing the ragged edge of a ripper like "Dumpweed" or the goofy teen charm that made a hit out of "All the Small Things." They strike a better balance with "FELL IN LOVE," lacing the upbeat, bouncy pop sound with an underlayer of melancholy.
That tinge of sadness is present among the strongest songs on ONE MORE TIME…, just as it's been at the heart of the band's best music since their early days. You can hear it further along in "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'VE GOT," "BAD NEWS" and "OTHER SIDE," which recall the sound of Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, the first time the band really started to mature. The centrepiece though — the record's emotional core — is the title track, a sparse, sombre ballad that recounts the group's process of finding each other again following Hoppus's cancer diagnosis and, earlier, Barker's plane crash. Throughout the album, blink-182 make multiple references to how much time has passed since their younger years, and they tie up that theme neatly in a bow on the closer, "CHILDHOOD," as they wonder, "Where did our childhood go? / I want to know."
And when you really think about it, it becomes painfully obvious that an underlying sense of sadness should be the greatest strength of ONE MORE TIME…. The trio's reunion is exciting, it's heartening, it's a celebration — but it's also sad on a deeper, primal level. This is a group of guys who were best friends, then they weren't, then they were again, then they weren't, and now they are again. They share many years of fond memories, and many years of painful ones. They're in their late forties and early fifties now, not their twenties. And their long-time fans have grown up right along with them. More than ever, the millennials who made them famous are seeing their youth slip away. The wave of '90s and '00s nostalgia, the pop-punk resurgence, the return of Mark, Tom and Travis… these are all, to use an atrocious millennial phrase, hitting them right in the feels. On ONE MORE TIME…, blink-182 don't always hit that sweet spot, but when they do, it feels earned.
(Columbia)At the same time, the music of the late '90s and early 2000s has seen an unexpected resurgence. The success of Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eillish, Yungblud and Willow Smith has prompted some to throw around the term "pop-punk revival," as these Gen Z pop stars represent a sizable faction of the younger generation obsessed with millennial touchstones like Paramore, My Chemical Romance, Avril Lavigne, Fall Out Boy and Green Day. Scroll through TikTok enough and you'll find teenagers wishing they had been lucky enough to have grown up in the emo era of fringe haircuts, skinny jeans, studded belts and Warped Tour. (It's worth reminding these kids that those who actually did partake in this fashion trend tended to be ruthlessly bullied and, in some cases, clinically depressed.)
Into this moment in pop culture steps blink-182, arguably the long-reigning kings of pop-punk. Here, they're riding not only the wave of the genre's so-called revival, but also a fan frenzy over the reunion of their classic lineup following the return of founding member Tom DeLonge. They've got fans in their thirties who are thrilled to throw on their nostalgia goggles, plus a younger demo that loves prime blink-182 the way a '90s kid might've loved prime Led Zeppelin. As Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker pressed on after DeLonge's departure in 2015 and released the pretty good California and the pretty bad Nine, Alkaline Trio's Matt Skiba did a genuinely admirable job of filling the vacancy on guitar and vocals. But real ones knew that blink-182 was meant to be the Mark, Tom and Travis Show. And here they are.
As the classic lineup's first album together since 2011's Neighborhoods, ONE MORE TIME… is positioned to leverage a near-nuclear level of nostalgia. The band seem to recognize that, as they open the record with "ANTHEM PART 3," drawing a direct line back to Enema of the State closer "Anthem" and Take Off Your Pants and Jacket opener "Anthem, Pt. 2." Beyond just the title, this third song in the series is intentionally written to elicit flashbacks: it kicks off with almost exactly the same chugs and arpeggios as "Anthem, Pt. 2." It's a fun callback, but it also feels like fan service. Besides, "Anthem, Pt. 2" didn't sound anything like the first one. Why should the third part mimic the second? Fortunately, the similarities mostly end after the first 30 seconds as the band rips into a fast-paced, high-flying act of melodic punk, with DeLonge and Hoppus trading off encouraging words for anyone who feels hopeless, stagnant and complacent and needs a push to get up and do something about it. After one song, blink-182 already sound more exciting and inspired than they have in years.
Across the rest of the 17 tracks on ONE MORE TIME…, the band puts forward an effort that's uneven and imperfect, but admirably built to stand on its own. At a time when blink-182 could have done the easy thing and followed the 20th anniversaries of their three biggest albums with a reunion record that simply repackages that same sound in what would likely have been a superficially gratifying way, they made a record that feels like a continuation, not a rehash.
Songs like "MORE THAN YOU KNOW" and "WHEN WE WERE YOUNG" are among the best at recapturing the magic of classic blink-182, but injected with a new, current energy. These songs basically pick up where they left off with their untitled album from 2003 — the one that contained enduringly popular hits like "I Miss You" and "Feeling This" — which, given the piecemeal approach to making Neighborhoods, marks the last time that DeLonge, Hoppus and Barker had worked fully and collaboratively on a project. "TERRIFIED" starts out like a straight-up time machine back to the moody, atmospheric sound of songs like "Down" and "Obvious," but then they subvert expectations by suddenly shifting — granted, a little awkwardly — into a major-key pop chorus. (This song also features a chunky, metallic guitar riff that sounds like it could be a leftover from Boxcar Racer, but if we're being truly honest, it actually sounds like Limp Bizkit's "Break Stuff.") Drawing from other corners of their history and influences, "BLINK WAVE" shows the band's love of synthy '80s post-punk and features some trademark Travis Barker drum beats, while "FUCK FACE" finds them trying out a bit of old-school hardcore punk.
The album's weakest links have to be "DANCE WITH ME" and "EDGING," which reveal the limitations of being an aging pop-punk band with an established mastery of the songwriting craft but a lack of authentic youthful spunk; they're both full of catchy hooks that should be great on paper, but they come off corny, lyrically and musically, when they're missing the ragged edge of a ripper like "Dumpweed" or the goofy teen charm that made a hit out of "All the Small Things." They strike a better balance with "FELL IN LOVE," lacing the upbeat, bouncy pop sound with an underlayer of melancholy.
That tinge of sadness is present among the strongest songs on ONE MORE TIME…, just as it's been at the heart of the band's best music since their early days. You can hear it further along in "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'VE GOT," "BAD NEWS" and "OTHER SIDE," which recall the sound of Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, the first time the band really started to mature. The centrepiece though — the record's emotional core — is the title track, a sparse, sombre ballad that recounts the group's process of finding each other again following Hoppus's cancer diagnosis and, earlier, Barker's plane crash. Throughout the album, blink-182 make multiple references to how much time has passed since their younger years, and they tie up that theme neatly in a bow on the closer, "CHILDHOOD," as they wonder, "Where did our childhood go? / I want to know."
And when you really think about it, it becomes painfully obvious that an underlying sense of sadness should be the greatest strength of ONE MORE TIME…. The trio's reunion is exciting, it's heartening, it's a celebration — but it's also sad on a deeper, primal level. This is a group of guys who were best friends, then they weren't, then they were again, then they weren't, and now they are again. They share many years of fond memories, and many years of painful ones. They're in their late forties and early fifties now, not their twenties. And their long-time fans have grown up right along with them. More than ever, the millennials who made them famous are seeing their youth slip away. The wave of '90s and '00s nostalgia, the pop-punk resurgence, the return of Mark, Tom and Travis… these are all, to use an atrocious millennial phrase, hitting them right in the feels. On ONE MORE TIME…, blink-182 don't always hit that sweet spot, but when they do, it feels earned.