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1.Feeling This - Great Chorus, great energy great song.10/10
2.Obvious - Good, it's a little dark, kind of combination with Boxcar Racer, good lyrics too.9/10
3.Miss You - This sounds like Sugar Ray, great drums beat, kind of romantic song, i think Mark wrote it when he's away of his familly on the road.10/10
4.Violence - Very Good, weird verse, good drums beats, great chorus lyrics.9/10
5.Stockholm Syndrome - One of my favorites, excelent lyrics, excelent rythm, specially when the guitar is palm muted, great beats, nothing is the same in this song, it has a lot of changes.10/10
6.Down - Good, just good, good rythms, maybe with time i'll like it more.9/10
7.The Fallen Syndrome - One of my favorites, it's not blink!!!! what a great instrumental song, great drums, great bass, this is a song for old mans, kids, young peolple, is great, it's kind of jazz with new age, is great, THAT DRUMS!!!!.10/10
8.Go - I don't like it very much, the fastest song of the album, kind of dude ranch song, kind of old blink, but is good.8/10
9.Asthenia - Good, a lot of energy.9/10
10.Always - Excellent Instruments, good chorus.9/10
11.Easy Target - My Favorite, IS THE GREATEST OF ALL THE CD.10/10
12.All Of This - Great - i like the cure a lot, a little bit boring but still great, Robert Smith is a great muscician.9/10
13.Here's Your Letter - Very punk, sounds like boxcar racer, is very cool.8/10
14.I'm Lost Without You - The guitar is too loud, grat drums, specially in the end, is very slow the song, is good.8/10

Great cd, but not their best, the best is enema of state, but this is very good too, the drums are awesome...


I Guess This Is Growing Up (more like 4 1/2 stars)   November 18, 2003
 9 out of 9 found this review helpful

It's not blink-182's fault that they fell into the TRL crowd. It just sort of happened one day, in a cloud of irony, after they made fun of the usual TRL roundups, and ever since then, they've been staples on MTV. They could have at least tried to stray from this, but alas they did not. That never really hurt the band too much, except for the credibility they had earned earlier with punk fans. Now blink-182 was being called *gulp* pop music! The nerve! But, after achieving success with the formulaic pop-punk sound, blink-182 decided to change direction a little bit and grow the f*** up.

On their new self-titled disc, blink explores their maturity in life and in music, by displaying the most respectable kind of punk they've offered to date. Maybe that side project Box Car Racer or their buddies Jimmy Eat World inspired the band to be a little more musically oriented than generally predictable. blink's last few albums haven't been bad, but they have been pretty standard. This time around, it's not typical; it's like a good book, flowing evenly and profusely throughout, never really giving it's audience a point where they get bored by detail.

The album sets off a wildfire, with new and above-average tunes like the snappy "Violence," in which vocalist/guitarist Tom DeLonge speaks with a jazz-like flair, while fingersnaps back him up. The mellow "Down," keeps a steady pace moving into the instrumental beat-driven "The Fallen Interlude," which resembles, believe it or not, Linkin Park (!). Not to say blink is rap-metal, but they get close to hard rock with the earthquaking "Stockholm Syndrome."

And judged by that song, this question may come up: can blink still rock the mic? Yes, indeed, just like old times, such as the lead single, "Feeling This," shows us (with its acapella end, its latin drum loop and all), as does the fairly simplistic "Go," and old-school inspired "Easy Target," which moves directly into the moody and dark "All Of This," featuring vocals by Robert Smith of the Cure. The band keeps it's roots intact, but throws the world a curveball by using programming, drum loops, and all kinds of new arrangements to expand their musical talents. Even using Tom a bit more on vocals doesn't hurt the band, giving them a rougher exterior than before. Bassist Mark Hoppus is a fine singer, but more clean-cut than Tom's made-for-punk voice is. Mark only sings one song by himself (the smooth rocker, "Here's Your Letter"), as the rest are more or less Tom's, with assistance by Mark.

This is growing up for blink-182, and this is sure to earn them some respect from many who have given up on them. They've ditched the sound that so many bands have stolen and tried to make their own (and failed at miserably), but now blink-182 has found their niche, and it's a good one. Some bands can't pull off a 180 like this, but blink succeeds, and it's a welcome change.