Blink-182 released their fifteen track, eighth studio album, entitled “Nine,” on Friday, Sept. 20. The name was inspired by the place the album takes in their discography. Blink-182 is a pop-punk band formed in 1992 that consists of three members: Mark Hoppus, Travis Barker, and Matt Skiba.
While listening, I found that the music and the vocals were pretty enjoyable. There were a couple of songs that excited me musically, for example, “Darkside,” but most did not either excite or disappoint me. In all, I think it is evident that time was put into the writing and recording process.
On the other hand, the lyrics, to me, were very unoriginal. I felt like I had heard the metaphors and phrases many times before. They seemed to fall within some of the common cliches found in the genre, especially from the more moody bands. I think I would have appreciated more innovation and genuine emotion from the band, especially as they can afford to do so.
As a whole album, the songs did not seem to fit any specific theme, but they all sounded very similar. I did notice, however, that the last song ends the album with a solemn feeling, which I believe was purposeful. I appreciate that the band took some time to place each song in a particular place on the tracklist.
My favorite songs were “Ransom” and “Generational Divide,” both because they employ the characteristics of some earlier punk bands, such as short length. I really appreciated the harking back to the foundations of the genre.
I would not say that this is the best album in existence, or even the best album to come from Blink-182, but I do think that it is worth listening to.
Album rating: 6/10