Chris Hall
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, friends, strangers, and everyone in between THE DAY HAS COME! NINE, the long-awaited new album from Blink-182 is here! You can listen to it with your own ears!
NINE is, according to the band, the ninth album from Blink-182. As explained by Mark Hoppus, “I’m counting Buddha, Cheshire Cat, Dude Ranch, Enema Of The State, TOYPAJ, Untitled, Neighborhoods, California, and now NINE. Nine is also the number of universal love. and the number of Uranus. Remember to like and smash that subscribe button, or whatever it is the kids say now.”
Blink-182 has been a staple in my music library and, in turn, my life since the day I first heard them. This album release is by far the one I’ve been most excited about all year.
So let’s dive into it…..
The Pros
The one major positive of this album is that it’s a Blink-182 album. Blink have established themselves as pop-punk gods, they’re at the level where anything they do is going to command attention.
So basically if you clicked on this review you’ve either already heard the album or you’re going to listen regardless of what I say.
This album has a lot of energy to it. The songs move along at a good pace, and most of the tracks have an upbeat, almost dancey tempo. While taking notes I jotted down “emo dance punk edm music???”. So take that as you will.
The Cons
I might lose some friends in this section.
For a Blink album, this one is weird. You know how a lot of bands have that one album that’s their “experimental” album where they “go in a new direction and it’s really the most mature music we’ve ever made”? NINE is that album for Blink. At least I hope it is…..
The production and instrumental composition really take the lead spot in the cons section. It is very well produced, but maybe too well. There are no rough edges to this album, no grit, no guts. I would even go as far as to say that this album doesn’t fit well in the pop-punk genre. And maybe that’s what they were going for?
The album is also overly saturated with effects, filters, and other production add ons that just seem out of place and out of character for the band. It’s honestly hard to explain, but you’re going to listen anyways so get back to me with your opinion.
I also find issues with the lyrics and vocals, specifically on Mark’s part. Some of his writing doesn’t flow very well, and his specific style of singing seems to add a clunky-ness to the vocals.
Speaking of writing, some of these songs seem to be made-up gibberish about literally nothing. I will also say it is extremely awkward to hear an emo breakup song from a band comprised of 40-year-olds, of which I know one is married and at least two have kids.
Overall Rating: 4/10
I’m going to take a minute to defend this, because I’m sure some people are going to balk at this score and the fact that I’ve given albums from smaller bands better ratings.
This score represents two things: my expectations and what was actually delivered. When I heard that Blink-182 was recording a new album I was euphoric. We all know what this band is capable of. Their music can change your life.
That’s not what NINE is. Your favorite song is not on this album. You won’t have this album on repeat for a month. You might not even talk about it with your best friend.
I wanted so badly for this album to be a 10, but it’s just not.
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