Small children grow up. The American punk pop trio Blink 182 has always been described as toddler punk by serious punk rock fans, but in recent years the band members turned out to have more musical aspirations. In side projects like Transplants and especially the usually overlooked Box Car Racer, which delivered a very appetizing emo pop album, another side came to light. This self-titled album
… has now also been recorded on the same path. The catchy choruses are kept to a minimum, even piano samples (!) Are used and the song structures this time extend beyond the verse-chorus pattern in which the band found itself. Blink 182 thus seems to be making an attempt to grow up or at least to appear that way. The question is, of course, whether that was successful. For now, a convincing 'yes' are not yet given because the coherence is somewhat lacking on this album. Because where at one moment there is still a lot of effort (Go), the next moment it is boring nonsense (The Fallen Interlude). Incidentally, the courage of Blink 182 that she is finally developing something of her own style must be appreciated. And with Easy Target, there is still a tasty single candidate available. (RWK)more
