California

It seems weird to be so whole-heartedly in favour of a blink album which doesn't feature Tom Delonge. But Matt Skiba is a brilliant replacement, and I would rather have an enthusiastic Matt Skiba who still primarily writes guitar-led rock songs, rather than an apathetic Tom Delonge.While Neighborhoods saw the meshing of Mark and Tom's increasingly different song writing styles, California sees the band return to an abundance of fast, catchy hooks, singalong choruses and fun upbeat melodies. It's absolutely jammed full of summer anthems, which is partly thanks to having John Feldman as producer.It is less heavy and dark than their Untitled album which I was slightly disappointed to hear. But I feel it is more of a return to their pop-punk heyday. (Maybe they've still got another "heyday" in them.)From fast punk songs like Cynical to the earworms like the insanely catchy Sober, and songs with huge choruses you can dance and thrash along to like Left Alone and No Future, there seems to be something for all blink's fan base to latch onto.If your favourite era was Cheshire Cat/Dude Ranch you'll probably love The Only Thing That Matters for its pace and signature Mark bass track. If Enema of the State and TOYPAJ were your favourites then She's Out of her Mind, Rabbit Hole, and Teenage Satellites might get you pumped. And then songs like Bored To Death, Los Angeles, Home is Such a Lonely Place and San Diego show the more mature, often darker side to the band we've been more used to since 2003. In fact the lyrics to San Diego were largely penned about Mark's friendship with Tom which gives the track an even more poignant edge.And then on top of all that there's even a couple of daft joke songs which also have great musical drive and some awesome riffs in. And there's also a ballad (Home Is Such A Lonely Place) written beautifully about the heartache having to let your children go as they grow up and become increasingly independent.Mark's voice sounds stronger than ever (again probably thanks to Feldman's production), Matt brings a new exciting and fresh aspect to the band, and Travis Barker is Travis Barker...insanely good as always.I can't stop listening to the album and I feel that's the biggest compliment you can give it when the songs have just been released. It's so catchy, addictive and ultimately feels like the most fun the band has had in maybe 15 years. Blink haven't sounded so much like blink in so long. It's amazing to have them back.Track ratings:Cynical 9.5/10Bored To Death 9/10She's Out Of Her Mind 8.5/10Los Angeles 7/10Sober 10/10Built This Pool 8/10No Future 9/10Home Is Such A Lonely Place 7.5/10Kings Of The Weekend 7/10Teenage Satellites 8/10Left Alone 9/10Rabbit Hole 8/10San Diego 9.5/10The Only Thing That Matters 9/10California 6/10Brohemian Rhapsody 8/10

I was wanting to listen for a week or so before writing a review so I could get to know the album. There is nothing really different I can add which the other positive reviews have already said. I really like how Mark and Matt pretty much share the vocal duties on nearly all the songs. I think they have done this to keep any one song sounding like a +44 or Alkaline Trio track. The album is outstanding. So much better than I expected, Alkaline Trio have been my obsession since 2000 and Blink since 1999 so this is just perfect for me. Matt has such a great voice and it sounds stronger here than on the last couple of Trio albums 'Left Alone' is proof of this. This is the first Blink 182 album since TOYPAJ that I could listen to front to back and enjoy every track as much as the last. I was listening to the Self titled album a few weeks ago and could not remember it being such a chore to listen to in its entirety back in 2003 or such a lack of Mark songs. I thought Neighborhoods was decent but Tom's vocals just didn't do it for me and Dogs Eating Dogs was forgettable. This album is great and am glad to see so many positive reviews as well, give it a few listens and these songs will be in your head for a long time. Looking forward to a UK tour.

As a long term fan of the band, its hard to ignore the drama surrounding the record. Listening to the songs, the absence of Tom Delonge is quite apparent and the record does lose charm as a result. While the addition of Matt Skiba injects a new element to a lot of the songs, after their previous more experimental 'Dogs Eating Dogs' ep I would say this feels like a much safer affair overall.The record has some great moments on it for sure, 'Los Angeles' 'San Diego' and the main single 'bored to death' are all catchy and great blink songs, but at 16 songs in length (including the 2 shorter songs) its feels overstuffed at times. For new fans I think this is a solid entry and certainly captures a lot of the Blink elements to rock out too and for older fans if you're looking for nostalgia driven pop punk record then this is for you too.

I've been a Blink fan since the "Enema" era, which I guess is when they broke through with big commercial success. I've been an Alkaline Trio fan for a similar amount of time and would have to say I'm a bigger Alk3 fan than I am Blink 182, so when I heard Matt Skiba was stepping in to fill Tom's shoes I was pretty excited.This album delivers the goods, it is full of catchy lyrics and riff's and it is definetly a Blink album. It's it the epitome of summer, and I kinda like the "Na Na na's" and "Whoa oh's" that other reviewers have mentioned their distaste for. I can imagine seeing them live and the whole crowd "Na Na Na"-ing along with them! My only gripe is that I would have liked Skiba to do more of the lead vocals rather than more of the backing for Mark Hoppus, but being an Alk3 fan I guess I would say that.Stand out songs for me are Bored to Death, Sober and I think my absolute favourite is Left Alone.Give the Skibafied Blink a go, what's the worst that could happen?

I use this product mostly for listening.OK reader - I don't get paid for leaving these reviews. So I'm gonna need you to join in a bit if that's OK?You need to join in. I will know if you just sit there, in silence and I willl send you an invoice for my time spent reviewing divided by 2Ok are you ready ?Don't make me look silly now will you?Let's Go....Gimme a B....Oh come ON, you can do better than that can't you?