Blink-182One More Time…

Back in 2022 when pop punk idols Blink-182 returned with the hallowed lineup of Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge, and Travis Barker, the collective hearts of fans worldwide combusted.

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Along with the release of the charismatic single Edging last year, disputes were mended, Matt Skiba departed, even more new music was imminent, and album #9 loomed in the not-too-distant future. Enter, One More Time…, a balanced, polished, and ultimately quintessential Blink outing that feels like the return of a long-lost friend, complete with a whopping 17 tracks (albeit with a few short segues in the mix).

Opening with Anthem Part 3, the Blink lads clearly aren’t phoning it in, paying a faithful homage to their 2001 track Anthem Part 2 from Take Off Your Pants and Jacket; a track that itself was also an extension of Anthem on the band’s 1999 breakout album Enema of the State. A boisterous and cohesive blend of pure Blink joy, Anthem Part 3 shines with its uplifting lyricism and a first of many show-stopping outings from Barker behind the kit alongside Barker himself taking on producing duties for the first time in the band’s career.

While it may be decades now into the Blink journey, the trio’s enduring irreverence has not entirely dulled, with track #2, Dance With Me, opening with DeLonge stating: “When I teach masturbation, I’m always just like – have fun with it”; a line that was confirmed by Barker on Twitter to have been an outtake from a song that didn’t make the album. But jokes aside, Dance With Me is a pop punk pearler, with an accompanying music video that will tickle any Ramones fans fancy out there in the universe. 

…a melodic, cheery, and ultimately quintessential Blink outing that feels like the return of a long-lost friend…while they aren’t necessarily reinventing a well-established wheel, they certainly know how to remain musically relevant and resonant – and the pop punk fountain of youth remains strong after all this time.

From here, Blink explore their newfound lease on life via effervescent polish (Fell in Love), melancholic flux (Terrified), acoustic-laden ballads (One More Time), heavier chest-pounding moments (More Than You Know), and a track that also shares the name of the upcoming headline festival set that Blink will bust out in Las Vegas this weekend (When We Were Young). 

Progressing between sprightly jaunt on Edging, instant singalong classics like You Don’t Know What You’ve Got, modern flourishes on Blink Wave, and raucous yet forlorn anthems like Bad News, it’s hard to resist the ever-familiar magic that Hoppus, DeLonge, and Barker seem to find together; and it’s one that remains affable, approachable, flippant, and reflective. 

The crudeness may still play some part in the Blink DNA and maturity, or the occasional lack thereof, is still very much on the menu. But somehow between the soaring catharsis of Turpentine, the mournful toe-tapping of Other Side, and the soft self-awareness of the album’s closing track Childhood, Blink-182 seamlessly affirm that while they aren’t necessarily reinventing a well-established wheel, they certainly know how to remain musically relevant and resonant – and the pop punk fountain of youth remains strong after all this time.

STANDOUT TRACKS: Anthem Part 3, Dance With Me, When We Were Young
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