"NINE" is of course the ninth studio album by punk pop kings Blink 182 and is the follow up to 2016s "California". "Calafornia" saw a bit of a change of direction for Blink with the departure of founding member, guitarist and vocals, Tom De Lounge. Considering Blink is a 3 piece band this was a big deal but they replaced him with Alkaline Trio frontman Matt Skiba to mixed reception. Personally I thought this brought about a refreshing change in sound for Blink while sticking to their punk pop roots.
When the first single for "NINE" was released "Blamed it on my Youth" I was slightly disappointed as it did feel like it was just another song left over from the "California" sessions. And it may have been but it has grown on me over time as it is incredibly catchy and is a sing along anthem. They did release a few other songs prior to release such as "Darkside" and "Generational Divide" but I decided to wait till the album to come out to listen to them. "Generational divide" is a short sharp song and you can see why. The drumming by Travis Barker is so ferocious that I think if the song went on for another few seconds he could pass out. Its a good track with the drumming being really the main focal point of it.
My favourite songs off the album are "Happy Days" and "Pin Grenade". As the title would kind of imply "Happy Days" really is just a joyous, uplifting pop punk song. When you use the word "happy" and say it the right way in a song I think its almost a way to make the listener feel good and happy. Just think of the Pharrell Williams song "Happy". Singing along it just makes me happy. Now just because the word "Happy" is a song doesn't necessarily make it a happy song, just think Radiohead. But "Happy Days" is a happy song and that's what makes it so good. "Pin Grenade" is another song which is fantastic. Another feel good, jump around, sing along pop punk album. I mention these two but this album is littered with them.
In terms of balance to the album though there are a few softer songs to mix things up a bit and we all know from past Blink 182 that they have a good reputation for making amazing pop punk ballad songs which can be sad but are very powerful songs such as "I miss you" and "Adams song". On this album the main ones are "No heart to speak of" and "Remember to forget me". I would say "No heart to speak of" is more of the powerful song. While "Remember to forget me" is the soft ballad closer where Mark and Matt exchange vocals throughout. Which they do throughout the album but I found this a lot less noticeable on this album as I think its more though that I'm getting used to hearing Matt's voice on vocals now.
Overall this album shows that Blink are still the premier pop punk kings in the world. They have packed this album with so many catchy songs that stand side by side with the well known songs they have made in the past. If "California" had its doubters I think this album would put them to rest as although I really liked "California" at the time, I think this album is even better.
