Blink-182 thinks about the life and comings and goings of Tom DeLonge in ‘One more time’, the first album after the singer’s comeback

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Vocalist and guitarist records the trio’s first album with a classic lineup in 12 years. On their ninth studio album, the group sings about Mark Hoppus’ cancer and visits their punk and emo pop phases. With 21 years of existence, Blink-182 reaches its ninth studio album – and the first with guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge in 12 years – with a reflection on the relationships between its members, Tom’s comings and goings and the depression and cancer of the other singer and bassist, Mark Hoppus. Released this Friday (20), “One more time…” must be an acquired taste for longtime fans of the Californian trio. With heavier and more mature themes, it adopts a bit of the more brooding tone of the last albums, but also looks at the humor and speed of the sound from its pop-punk phase. The first listen leaves the impression of a work out of place, out of time. With faster and more shouty songs at the beginning, anyone who isn’t paying close attention will feel a bit of an old-guy-wanting-to-be-young vibe (in the style of the meme of Steve Buscemi with a skateboard on his back trying to pass himself off as a high schooler). Over time, however, he shows psychological and, above all, musical maturity. The jokes still appear, but it’s worth remembering that most of the fans, teenagers in the 2000s, grew old with the group. “Anthem part 3” opens the album as an obvious reference to “Anthem part two”, from “Take off your pants and jacket” (2001), a time when the band was enjoying the height of its success. The fast-paced pop-punk groove causes auditory déjà vu, even though the song doesn’t achieve the same memorable chords as its predecessor. Cover of ‘One more time…’, Blink-182’s new album Disclosure It is followed by “Dance with me”, the greatest reflection of the playful teenage spirit of the trio’s heyday and a horrible chorus with the potential to become a favorite among fans – anyone who doesn’t have “olé olé olé olé” in their head after listening to it for the second time should check their own heartbeat. “Fell in love”, with lyrics that sound like the memory of post-adolescent love (“Remember the time we fell in love? Remember that night you came here?”), begins the evolution into the most melodic – not to say “emo” –, from “Blink-182”, (2003). Appropriate, considering the reference to “Close to me”, by The Cure, one of the group’s biggest influences. The disc grows little by little. It’s as if the members started to look less at what they were as a band until the 2000s and more at their recent lives – at this point approaching 50 years of age. The song that gives the album its name is a great reflection on the relationships between the three, from their friendship to the times when Tom left the band – and then returned, whether due to the plane crash of the drummer, Tom Barker, or Hoppus’ illness. (“I wish they would tell us that it shouldn’t take a disease / or planes falling out of the sky”). The song, the great emotional center of the album, even finds space to recover “I miss you”, perhaps the trio’s biggest commercial success (and also the most emotional). After that, the album floats with a certain skill, and without major trauma, through the main major aspects of Blink – at times, it flirts again with light Californian punk. Most of the time, however, he reflects on mortality and other things that are in the minds of guys at that age. Especially after 2021, when Mark Hoppus got rid of cancer – the main motivation for Tom’s return. Travis Barker, Tom DeLonge and Mark Hoppus in a promotional image for Blink-182 Disclosure Until the end, the trio seems to discuss this dynamic with a few breaks. “Edging” returns the trio to their origins and also makes reference to the song by Angels & Airwaves, a band formed by the guitarist after his first departure in 2005. The album continues without major highlights until the end, when it surprises in two moments. “Turpentine” adopts a sound that combines punk screams with an emotional touch. In many moments, there are echoes of a less electronic Linkin Park. “Childhood” ends the album with a glimpse of a possible new path for Blink. A rhythm different from practically everything the trio has ever done – a pop/almost electronic rock in the Gorillaz style, with voice distortions. At least until the chorus, in which a melodic side takes over – more Radiohead than Cure. If this really is the trio’s future, fans will need to wait. Until then, at least, there is comfort that the cancellation of the show in Brazil in 2023 was not all bad. In 2024, the group will be able to present this new and good album in person.

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