Thoughts on the new Blink-182 album

Blink-182 was the first band to abandon me. At a time when I was first starting to develop an appreciation for the bands that released the music I heard on the radio, television, and various "Now That's What I Call Music" compilation albums (I admit it...), Blink-182 hit a snag due to overwhelming turmoil among the members and called it quits. I remember hearing the news, and I felt beat down. I was confused. After all, their self-titled/untitled effort was magnificent, a masterpiece and a huge step up from anything they've ever done, so why would they want to walk away from it all?

I was a huge supporter of the various Blink side projects, but none of them had the long term affect on me that Blink's music did. They were one of the first 5 bands that made me fall in love with rock music, and along with Green Day they are the only two that I still listen to with any consistency. When I heard Blink-182 was going to share the same stage at the Grammys two years ago, the kid inside of me was giddy, as was the young adult and future adult. When they announced they were coming back, I was thrilled. A part of myself was revived.

Their new album hit many snags, and so many on absolutepunk.net and other internet music sites lost faith that it would ever come out. But here we are on September 27th, and the new Blink-182 album is in stores and on music sites everywhere. All the anticipation, the talk, the cancelled tour dates and dreaming has led to the release of Neighborhoods, the sixth studio effort from the veteran pop punkers. On first listen, the most startling thing I can point out about the new CD is that it sounds like Blink-182. That is putting it simply, but as best I could.

Everyone complained about how "Up All Night" sounds like Angels and Airwaves and Boxcar Racer or how other songs sound like +44. That's because those bands were formed by members of Blink-182. That criticism is unnecessary. Had the new Blink album come out without any break-up or side projects, every fan would have praised this album as the logical progression from their self-titled effort. Had Blink-182 called it quits after "Take Off Your Pants and Jacket", formed side projects, and reformed to write self-titled, people would be criticizing that album as sound too much like said projects. In the end, all roads point to Blink-182.

So with all that said, my thoughts on the music that comprises Neighborhoods: The opener is solid, though the synthesizer is a little off-putting and sounds a little out of place for a Blink song. What I do love from Ghost on the Dance Floor is the verses, which bring up images of "There Is" by Boxcar Racer. The fast track Natives precedes Up All Night, a song which many were weary about at first but will enjoy a lot more within the confines of this album. Up All Night fits so much better with the sound this CD establishes.

Snake Charmer is a stand out track which starts with the recognizable base lines and drum beats of Mark and Travis, respectively, and give away to a heavy, dark guitar riff mixed in with a hypnotic piano over Tom's familiar whine. Tom sings "she creeps up like a spider, and wants you deep inside her/she turns you into stone, a twisted little stone", which embody the darkness Blink has embodied with their newest lyrics. The song leads well into an interlude that opens for the Bad Religion-sounding "Heart's All Gone", the fastest track on the new album that may remind many of old favorites like "Josie".

Tom and Mark's dynamic on the new album is as solid as its ever been, as they both share the spotlight on many songs, giving way for an interest back-and-forth on tracks like Kaleidoscope, where Mark discusses the long road and deadlines missed leading up to the new album's release. This song has single written all over it and may get some heavy play in future Blink-182 circles.

The song "Love is Dangerous" highlights the spacy overtones that are familiar to Angels and Airwaves fans, while MH 4.18.2011 is more pop punk influenced with a dance factor that is reminiscent of +44. In the end though, it's because of the progression Mark and Tom have faced post-break up that this album takes the shape it does and it's what ultimately makes this a fantastic Blink album.

10, 20, 50 years from now we won't look back at this album as a classic and in the end it might not even be a top 10 or 20 album of 2011 because of the high quality of releases from this year. But what we will take away from this album is that Blink-182 is back and still capable of writing catchy, danceable punk music that makes you want to sing along to with the windows down. It's just that this time, they've had some difficulties to overcome that have added a more real element to what they're talking about. The hardships were overcome and helped give them another dimension to their music, something fans should appreciate.

Blink-182 is back. For how long we won't know, but we should enjoy them while we have them. They will continue to tour and churn out hit songs. Welcome back boys.

Five Fall Tours That I'm Dying For

My nose is stuffed, my throat is sore, and I feel miserable. There is no better indication that fall is approaching than the rapid changing of weather for sweltering hot to the brisk, bitter chills of fall in the matter of 24 hours. Though summer still has another week or so of life, Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer. With summer ending, we say goodbye to all the amazing summer tours and bands that released those tunes we blasted on a highway drive with the windows ruled down. No more Warped Tour, no more shows in shorts and a white t-shirt.

But the fall also brings an abundance of fantastic and interesting tours with it. Every genre is well represented in shows over the next four months, but for me the rock, punk, and indie genres are especially packed with amazing shows. While many great shows are already planned, there are a plethora of tours with 3 or more fantastic bands gracing the bill. This is a direct result of all the talented artists releasing new albums in the next few months.

5. Thrice with La Dispute, Moving Mountains, and O'Brother

Coming off their wildly loved and softer album Beggars, Thrice promised a return to their roots with their latest effort Major/Minor. If the first three songs are any indication, Thrice is well on their way but without sacrificing the progression they've made on their latest works from Vheissu on. This tour hits Irving Plaza on Sunday, October 16th. Thrice brings along experimental post-hardcore outfit La Dispute, who release their sophomore album "Wildfire" in 2011, and Moving Mountains, who are fresh off performing on the Nintendo 3DS stage on the Van's Warped Tour. These two bands bring along emotional catharsis that will nicely complement Dustin Kensrue of Thrice. O'Brother is the opener as they're set to release their debut. They recently played New York with Manchester Orchestra and Cage the Elephant.
4. Kevin Devine with An Horse and The Front Bottoms

My choice for indie tour of the year, which also take places right in the middle of CMJ festivities in New York City. Hitting the big apple on Saturday, October 22nd, attendees of this show will witness a man who brings all the life experiences and emotions he has ever experienced with him onto the stage in a release of energy lyrical mastery. Kevin's newest album "Between the Concrete & Clouds" was released earlier this week and features more melodic humming guitars and beautiful poetry wrapped in a 40 minute package. An Horse, a two piece indie rock group reminiscent of Tegan and Sara, support the release of their sophomore album "Walls". The Front Bottoms are putting out their Bar/None Records debut, a self-titled effort.



3. Polar Bear Club with Fireworks, Balance & Composure, and Such Gold

Polar Bear Club returns to the city that never sleeps just four months after performing here with Bayside and Silverstein. Their new album "Clash Battle Guilt Pride" is their best sounding effort to date, a melodic punk head banger with vocal prowess and intensity that conjures up thoughts of an old school Tim McIlrath circa "Revolutions Per Minute". Their energetic live shows will be heightened by the fans of pop punk band Fireworks, whose new album "Gospel" broadened their sound with softer melodies, cleaner guitars, and lyrics that centered on first person encounters of their every day lives, much like recent works from The Wonder Years. Balance & Composure continue to tour for their stellar debut "Seperation", while Such Gold bring their melodic hardcore sound in what proves to be a solid opening slot. If you want to catch this show, hit up the Knitting Factory on Wednesday, October 12th for a steal of only $12 ($14 at the door).


2. Saves the Day & Bayside with I am the Avalanche and Transit

There is no shortage of great stories on this tour. After scaring their fanbases by withholding New York City dates for about four weeks, the show hits the big apple's Irving Plaza to end the tour on November 15 and 16. Bayside have toured extensively for their Wind-Up Records debut, Killing Time, playing with the likes of Senses Fail, Silverstein, Polar Bear Club, The Swellers, and now this. The Queens boys sound better than ever with quality production values bringing out the best in Jack O'Shea's guitar and Anthony's crisp, at times bitter and sarcastic vocals. In what is a dream show for them, Bayside brings along pop punk legends Saves the Day, whose newer works has drifted into the realms of emo and indie but continues to churn out quality album after quality album. Their latest work, Daybreak, comes out after years of delays and member changes but ends their 3 album trilogy (Sound the Alarm, Under the Boards) on a positive note. Conley's lyrics offer a small glimmer of hope after relaying the pain and anguish he's faced in his life. I am the Avalanche, another New York based punk rock band, release their long awaited sophomore album after six longs years. "Avalanche United" sports songs like "Brooklyn Dodgers" which many fans are familiar with. Pop Punk band Transit have been tabbed as openers and are supporting their newest CD "Listen & Forgive", out on October 11.



1. New Found Glory with Set Your Goals, The Wonder Years, Man Overboard, and This Time Next Year (Pop Punk's Not Dead Tour).

There is nothing more annoying than a show that features one prominent headliner, a decent supporting act, and two openers no ones heard off. The awkward stares and head nods the audience gives as the first couple bands rush through their 30 minute sets is unfortunate and provides a less than ideal atmosphere for the show. That's what makes this show so unbelievable. If you love one band, you probably love them all. The audience will be into all five bands, which will create a sweaty mess of crowd surfers and moshers that will bring the energy to new high. Legends New Found Glory return with "Radiosurgery", an album that many have already been calling one of their best works. The guitar riff on the lead single off the album is reminiscent of old Green Day mixed with classic New Found Glory goodness. They bring along Set Your Goals, whose debut "Mutiny" is a pop punk classic of our time and turned many kids back into the genre, which has seen a re-emergence with these type of bands. The Wonder Years, arguably the most popular band in the genre today (and with good reason) are riding high with their conceptual masterpiece, "Suburbia I've Given You All And Now I'm Nothing", an album with feeds off lead singer Soupy's real life account of growing up in a Philadelphia suburb and mixes it with catchy, high energy punk music. Openers Man Overboard and This Time Next Year are each gaining popularity on their own with catchy choruses and head banging verses that have made them forces in the pop punk world. The tour hits the Best Buy Theater in the heart of New York on Friday, October 28th.

The "Full Album Show" trend

Last Friday, I and over 1,000 other people had the pleasure of being in Irving Plaza to see Motion City Soundtrack perform their first two albums, "I am the Movie" and "Commit this to Memory", back-to-back. The next night, I returned to see their two latest albums, "Even if it Kills Me" and "My Dinosaur Life". It was a unique experience that the band decided to bestow upon their fan base in 7 different cities. The difficulty of learning and remembering over 50 songs to be played over two nights is something that the band enjoyed with a wild enthusiasm that showed on stage in their live performance, which was spot on. Even if the occasional lyric was forgotten here and there, their devoted fans were there to pick them up.

The "full album show" has become a trend over the past few years in the music scene, and let me go on record of showing my full support and appreciation for them. It gained steam as more of a "10 year anniversary" deal. My first full album show was New Found Glory performing their stellar self-titled album back in 2010 with Saves the Day and Hellogoodbye. A year earlier, emo rock legends The Get Up Kids and Jimmy Eat World performed their beloved album "Something to Write Home About" and "Clarity", respectively in New York and various other cities in order to honor what many fans consider the work that got them recognized and built their fan base.

As an avid music fan, I love the idea of an "album". I'm not a fan of individual tracks, and for me to truly devote myself to a band, they have to be able to write a stellar album that has a narrative and a feel that keeps me listening from the first track to the last. Albums like "American Idiot" hits me harder than Green Day's other works because of the story it tells. I've always appreciated Say Anything and their ability to write solid albums from front to back. A great opening and closing track is vital for the album to hold its own weight. So if a band has an album that shows all the signs of a great CD, it's even more fun seeing the band perform it live.

If you've ever attended a full album show, you know the atmosphere is unreal. The audience knows what they've come to see and they come prepared to sing every verse and mosh or crowd surf at the appropriate moments. There's no surprises, but there are often interesting tidbits and stories the band provides to take the listening public back to the time they were writing the album. The dynamic of fans who've been with the band since the beginning who were there when the album came out and newer fans who may have just heard the album for the first time a few weeks back is a fascinating one to observe, but in the end the fans love the music just the same.

In the recent months, many bands have tried out a new trend: playing all their albums over the course of several nights. Along with Motion City Soundtrack, punk legends The Bouncing Souls recently took it upon themselves to play all eight of their CDs over a four night span at Highline Ballroom in NYC, among other cities. Lead singer Greg Attonito wore a special tie which bore the number "one, two, three, four" on the specific night that the number corresponded to. Indie folk band The Weakerthans will perform the feat of playing their four albums over four nights at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC.

Perhaps the only downside to attending the full album show is the lack of spontaneity and surprise. One of the fun aspects of a show is the setlist and seeing which songs are played at which points in the set. The roar of the crowd when a classic song comes up unexpectedly is always a high point of the experience of a show. But if you love the album enough, the lack of surprise is something that can be overlooked.

There is nothing gimmicky about a band taking the time to perform one or all of their albums over the course of one or several nights. It is merely a way of connecting to an old part of them and even giving people the chance to track their progression which seeing why they love their favorite bands so much. It can take the audience back to the time they first heard the album and awaken feelings in each person that they had when they first discovered their favorite band. It is truly a special moment shared between musician and fan.

I never though I'd hear the Motion City Soundtrack songs "Boombox Generation", "Hangman" or "Antonia" live. After these past 2 shows I can marvel at the fact that such deep cuts off their albums were performed in front of me. I can now say I've heard one of my top 20 favorite albums of all time (Commit This to Memory) performed in its entirety, and I will forever love Motion City Soundtrack for doing it. Hopefully this is a trend that more bands take advantage of, as it gives their fans a rare treat that they will surely remember for a long, long time.