» ALBUM REVIEW

By Brandon HENSLEY

Overproduced singles with barely audible guitar? Check. A summer tour with a hip-hop artist? Check again. A delayed release schedule for an album that kept getting pushed back? Again, check.

It’s fair to say Blink-182 didn’t do its diehard fans any favors this year with most of its decisions. Immensely loved, yet often derided, the pop-punk legends finally released Nine on Sept. 20 with a lot to prove – or make up for, if you will.

Redemption is found deep, on track 10, “Pin the Grenade,” because once the chorus hits, all is forgiven.

The track, with its catchy intro drumbeat and booming refrain (Hey, wait/Pin the grenade/If you don’t love me lie to my face) that grabs you and never lets go, is three minutes of pop-punk bliss, proving bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus can still write a hook with the best of them.

The rest of Nine, the group’s latest effort and second with guitarist/vocalist Matt Skiba, is going to be a mixed bag for the Blink faithful. It’s a continuation of the uneven evolution since the band split with co-founder Tom DeLonge, who is off chasing stars, aliens and God knows what else.

It’s been an off-putting build-up to Nine. The four singles were rolled out every other month received by most fans with distaste for sounding insipid. Blink then announced its summer tour with Lil Wayne, which … kind of made sense? Wayne has dabbled in rock and drummer Travis Barker regularly collaborates with hip-hop artists.

Still, it was enough to have fans eager for this release, the first one since 2016’s throwback album California, which earned a Grammy nomination for best rock album. But fans were lukewarm to it, and this summer there were serious questions as to the direction the guys, now all in their 40s, were taking the franchise.

Nine won’t prove all of the skeptics wrong, but it’s an effort that should make most fans breathe a sigh of relief. Yes, the production is so compressed and sugary it makes their landmark 1999 album Enema of the State sound like a ’70s Sex Pistols record. The fourth single, “I Really Wish I Hated You,” buries the guitar in synthesizers and gloss, making it an instant turn-off. Skiba’s guitar tone on Nine is once again thin and non-threatening, in stark contrast to DeLonge’s iconic tone and riffage from the early days.

Still, there are moments to savor. “On Some Emo Sh**” is a heartbreaking reflection about a couple losing themselves in New York City. “No Heart to Speak Of” has Skiba churning out his best vocal work, and most passionate songwriting, since he came aboard. “Black Rain” is the most experimental Blink has been since 2003’s untitled record. The song mixes drum machines and racing guitars contrasted with a slower breakdown for its chorus. In fact, throughout the album Barker continually transitions from regular time to half time on the choruses, while Hoppus’ voice is regularly autotuned or pitched. The former idea is interesting, while the latter is frustrating.

The closer, “Remember to Forget Me,” has acoustic guitars, subtle piano and a seizure-like drum outro that Barker surely relished.

Songs like “Ransom” make listeners wish there was less experimentation and more commitment to see an idea all the way through. It begins with an autotuned refrain, “Say the word and I’ll be there,” which gives the impression you’re in for a imitation of a Justin Bieber ballad. But “Ransom” takes a huge left turn, morphing into a raging punk song about a couple who met, moved to LA, fell on hard times … and now she’s holding him for ransom.

The song is riot, but it clocks in a just 1:25. It’s over before you even know you love it. What’s more depressing is that “I Really Wish I Hated You” has seven writers claiming credit in the liner notes, when it should have been dumped off to 5 Seconds of Summer in the first place.

With that said, Nine is a compelling listen, one that is much more enjoyable than you would have thought a month ago. For now, that will have to do.

  Brandon Hensley