The Brown and White

On September 20, the popular rock band Blink-182 released a new album, titled “NINE.” The album was a bit unexpected as Blink has been quite inactive in recent years, and some speculated their last album would be the final album to come from this group. Coming out of left field, “NINE” feels like a breath of fresh air for fans of the band who have been anxiously waiting for some new music. Being one of the few alternative rock bands that still makes music today, people who appreciate this genre were absolutely ecstatic about finally having some new music to enjoy. The album is named “NINE” because the band considers it to be their ninth album together, including an old demo from 1994.

 

The album has received mixed reviews from critics and review websites, but has gotten a generally positive review overall. Some people, however, complain and feel the album strays too far from the band’s roots. In my opinion, these differences actually make the album and its songs even better, as it shows the versatility of the group.

 

The album peaked at No. 3 on the billboard top 200 and peaked at No. 1 on the US Alternative Albums, US Top Rock Albums and the US Top Tastemaker Albums. These high rankings on the charts might just be due to the general popularity of Blink-182 and have very little to do with the actual quality of this particular album, but that’s up to you to decide as the listener.

 

My favorite song out of the whole album was probably “Generational Divide.” I enjoyed the vibe of the song, and it feels like something I would listen to while driving around on a rainy night by myself. The overall tone of the song doesn’t exactly invoke “sad” feelings, but just more of a calmer, more tranquil feeling that is out of place.

 

“Ransom” was my least favorite song in the album because it just felt unoriginal compared to some of the other songs. I previously praised the album on being different than other Blink 182 albums in the past, but this song doesn’t stray at all from their standard format. This could absolutely be considered a positive by some fans of the band, but I enjoyed the uniqueness of the other songs a lot and was disappointed by this. Overall, it’s a worthwhile album to listen to, but I can understand how some people might not like it very much.

Rating: 8.5/10