While on their 2023/2024 tour, Blink-182 released a brand new album titled ONE MORE TIME.
Blink-182 is one of the most well-known punk rock bands in the world. In the midst of selling out stadiums and venues on a world tour, Blink-182 announced the release of their first new album since their reunion. ONE MORE TIME consists of 19 emotional, meaningful, and powerful songs. The first two songs of the album, “MORE THAN YOU KNOW” and “ONE MORE TIME,” were released on Sept. 21, 2023. The rest of the songs were released on Oct 20, 2023.
Along with the new album, the band extended its tour into 2024. Blink-182 announced this extended tour on Oct. 23, which is preparing fans to come see them travel across the United States again and guest-starring another punk band, Pierce the Veil.
“DANCE WITH ME”
I’m not a big fan of dancing, but this song definitely makes me want to. “DANCE WITH ME” is a “driving with the windows down and blasting the music” type of song. The song’s energy is uplifting and bubbly. The beat of the song is intended to be for dancing and inspiring people to get up and dance. “DANCE WITH ME” is a love song about seeing a pretty girl on the dance floor and falling in love with her. Besides being a love song, it is a tribute to The Ramones, a legendary punk band. The Ramones’ 1978 classic “I Wanna Be Sedated” inspired the music video for “DANCE WITH ME,” which was released on Oct. 5, 2023.
This song begins with the fluctuating bond between the band’s members: Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge, and Travis Barker.
“ONE MORE TIME”
This song deserves its very own review. Back in 2008, Travis Barker, the band’s drummer, survived a plane crash that killed four out of the six people on board. In April 2021, Mark Hoppus, Blink-182’s bassist and co-lead vocalist, was diagnosed with stage four diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. The song’s slower pace and amount of emotion and pure love in the lyrics were stunning. Punk rock isn’t usually described as beautiful. It typically would not be a very fitting adjective, but for “ONE MORE TIME,” it is incredibly suitable. This song begins with the fluctuating bond between the band’s members: Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge, and Travis Barker. “ONE MORE TIME” shows how they have grown closer into a brotherhood and how Mark and Travis’ extreme experiences inspired this song to be an appreciation for them still being here and a reminder to not take those we love for granted. It helps show how nothing lasts forever, and traumatic events shouldn’t have to occur for you to truly appreciate someone’s presence in your life. Travis’ plane crash and Mark’s diagnosis were the inspiration for what I believe to be one of the most meaningful Blink-182 songs.
“MORE THAN YOU KNOW”
More ordinarily, “MORE THAN YOU KNOW” is fast-paced and energetic, unlike the slower pace of “ONE MORE TIME.” Although the music is upbeat and fast, when listening closely to the carefully created lyrics, this song is about an emotional sensitivity that remains unseen, and even though it appears unharmed, it is not. I find this song amazingly relatable due to the talk of sheltering feelings and emotions from others. The lyrics, “I don’t feel pain, but I feel more than you’d ever know / I don’t feel shame, I don’t have highs, but I’ve got some lows,” really strike the heart and make you think about how you truly feel. People often fear expressing their emotions due to the fear of what others will think of them. When it comes to the musical aspect of this song, it is fantastically written, with the perfect balance of an abundance of loud drumming and wonderful bass and guitar parts. The song began with a deceiving piano solo that led into Travis’ drumming and finally the full-on punk rock.
“FELL IN LOVE”
It was hard to not fall in love with this song. Similar to “DANCE WITH ME,” “FELL IN LOVE” has a danceable beat and lyrics about meeting a girl at a party and falling in love with her. This song, especially the chorus, is an earworm. Its catchy lyrics made me want to learn them quickly so that I could sing along as soon as possible. “FELL IN LOVE” does not follow typical punk rock guidelines; it almost seems poppy. The drumming is more in the background and not as up-front or loud as it normally is. Die-hard Blink-182 fans and punk rock enthusiasts have varying opinions on this song due to the lack of hardcore rock that is going on, but honestly, I do not have much of a problem with it. I’m confident that the members of Blink could fit the lyrics and meaning of “FELL IN LOVE” into a more intense punk rock song, but the final product of the song is beautifully produced and executed.
Being their first album together in 12 years, and 30 years after the beginning of Blink-182, the album ONE MORE TIME is the best imaginable way for the reunion of Blink-182 to occur. Mark, Tom, and Travis have had their share of ups and downs in their friendship and lives, but their brotherhood shines bright in this album, and they have come back together to create a masterpiece.
