Gamesearcher1 4

I knew this album was going to be horrible, but my morbid curiosity got to the better of me. 'Nine' is a pop-punk mess, and this is coming I knew this album was going to be horrible, but my morbid curiosity got to the better of me. 'Nine' is a pop-punk mess, and this is coming from a person who enjoys the genre and band more than most.

The album is musically quite boring. Blink continues on the over-produced (although maybe not to the same extent) as 'California', pop-punk formula, and somehow manages to worsen it. The vocals are, usually, quite average. I wouldn't say that they're all too horrific, and the two vocalists do bounce off each other in a decent way. The vocal effects can go die in a hole, though.

For a pop-punk album, there's a great shortage of riffs too. The guitar-moments are your standard fare for the genre. They're serviceable, by the slightest margin. But added to the boredom-fest that this album usually is, and they just add to the mess. Props to that surprise solo on "On Some Emo **** because that was quite good. The drumming, on a brighter note, is as phenomenal as Barker usually brings to the table (he's such an underrated drummer) but I find the drums aren't as punchy as I want them. Still, great stuff in that regard.

The lyrics aren't a surprise, either. While I won't act like there aren't some good moments of writing, the same-old Blink love song is so generic and done-to-death that it just gets aggravating.

But it's not all bad. I think some songs, while still quite generic, bring some nice energy to them, such as "Pin the Grenade". The album does get slightly better in the second half, and while I wouldn't come back to a single song on the album, I wouldn't want to pull my hair after listening to them, as I do with others.

Overall, blink-182's latest release is what you expect. A quite boring and bland pop-punk album, with some **** singles (they're the worst songs on here) and a general lack of fun. Worst album by them, easily, and the worst one I've heard from this year.

Favourites: Pin the Grenade

Least Favourites: Really Wish I Hated You, Blame It on My Youth, Happy Days … Expand