'Neighborhoods' (4)
It's been eight years since Blink-182 released a studio album. During that time they've been apart, formed side-projects, reunited and toured the world. This is what we've been waiting for - worth it?
Overall, 'Neighborhoods' is a reminder of their ability to create incredibly melodic and learnable songs. However, the distinction between tracks written by Mark Hoppus and those by Tom Delonge couldn't be any clearer, as the contrast between the spacey, synthetic opener 'Ghost on the Dance Floor' and the powerchord-heavy, up-tempo nature of 'Natives' proves. This isn't a bad thing at all - it makes for a musically wiser and stronger Blink-182, showing us what they've gained as musicians during their time away from the band. If drawing comparisons, 'Neighborhoods' lies closer to the grown-up side of Blink-182 as found on their self-titled release in 2003. Lyrical maturity can be heard throughout the record, it's most exposed areas are present in 'After Midnight', 'Kaleidoscope' and even on the more fast paced moments which may be associated with earlier material, like 'Heart's All Gone'. There’s no reason why any of the tracks on 'Neighborhoods' cannot be considered as 'classic' Blink-182. This will soon be a classic album itself.
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