Up Next on the chopping block is another rewind review. This is a band that I was able to see at the 2025 Aftershock Festival and I gotta admit they were a lot of fun. The band that I am putting back on the chopping block is Blink-182 and I must say I’ve really become a bigger fan since seeing them again and going back and revisiting their albums so with that, let’s take a look………
Buddha- OK so I don’t think I’ve listened to this album since I did the original review on it. I actually completely forgot about this album and it definitely has that sort of younger skater punk feel to it. Overall, it’s not a bad way to start and it’s just a really fun record.
Previous Score: 8/10
New Score: 8/10
Standouts: T.V., Time, Point Of View
Cheshire Cat- again I feel like this one is kind of more of the same and it doesn’t really feel like there’s much variation between this one and Buddha but another really fun record. I really wish I could say there is a big difference between the two, but I really can’t. It’s just more of a continuation of what they were doing before. I guess if I had to find a difference, it would be that the production is a lot better but otherwise it’s not that different.
Previous Score: 8/10
New Score: 8/10
Standouts: Touchdown Boy, Wasting Time, Peggy Sue
Dude Ranch- I feel like this is the album that sort of started to break them. You can tell they are sort of on the cusp of gaining more popularity. It does have a couple of hits like the song Dammit and Josie so I could see how someone would say. This is where they first started really listen to these guys. It’s definitely a step up from what they were doing on the last couple of records.
Previous Score: 8.5/10
New Score: 9/10
Standouts: Untitled, Enthused, Voyeur
Enema Of The State- now this is the album that I really remember when it came out. If I remember correctly, I believe this came out during my freshman year in high school and I gotta be honest it holds up just as well now as it did back then. There’s only really one song that I can’t listen to, which would be All The Small Things (I swear to God that song is so overplayed I just cannot listen to it anymore) but aside from that the rest of the album is absolutely killer. This is one of those that when you go back to it you forget how good it is.
Previous Score: 10/10
New Score: 10/10
Standouts: Aliens Exist, Adam’s Song, The Party Song
The Mark, Tom, And Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back)- so this is a live album and it was recorded during the Enema Strikes Back era. I guess it was meant to serve as something to give to the fans between Enema Of The State and Take Off Your Pants And Jacket. I gotta say as far as live albums go it’s pretty good. Like it does a good job of capturing their energy that they still bring to their live shows. I would ideally like another live album release but for now this one will do. I’ll go ahead and give it 9/10.
Standouts: Aliens Exist, Untitled, Dumpweed
Take Off Your Pants And Jacket- I’ll be honest I actually really really like this record title. It’s very fitting for this band, but it is pretty awesome. Anyway, this is the perfect follow up. I mean take away. The 2 radio hits off this album and you’re still left with a really good album. The thing is this time around you can actually hear them start to mature and you can also hear that they were influenced by bands like The Cure. As goofy and immature as their records have been (including this one) they start to become more serious. I can’t say enough great things about this record. I really like this record more so this time.
Previous Score: 10/10
New Score: 10/10
Standouts: Online Songs, Anthem Part Two, Reckless Abandon
Blink-182- so you can clearly tell if you listen to these albums back to back that obviously this is their most mature record yet. What this proves even more is that they can in fact, write serious and really good songs. Yes there’s still some of the goofiness, but they’re sort of evolving into more of a serious band. Now it’s my understanding that there was a lot of contention during the writing of this album and in fact, I don’t think they even toured very much behind this once it came out. I do remember seeing them at a KROQ Acoustic Christmas when this album came out but aside from that they didn’t really do much for this. I guess this would be the last record for about seven years or so.
Previous Score: 10/10
New Score: 10/10
Standouts: Feeling This, All Of This, Obvious
Neighborhoods- honestly I don’t think I’d like this record that much when I first heard it, but going back to it now I actually like this one a lot more. To me it doesn’t really sound like they went on a hiatus at all. This definitely seems to pick up where the last record left off however, I don’t think it’s quite as strong as that record. Still though, it’s still worth a listen.
Previous Score: 7/10
New Score: 8.5/10
Standouts: Wishing Well, Natives, Heart’s All Gone
Dogs Eating Dogs- so this is an EP that I think is basically just leftovers from the Neighborhoods recordings. It does kind of remind me of the side +44 a little bit and it definitely feels like a B sides, but it’s actually quite good. I would actually go so far as to say it’s a good companion to Neighborhoods and it’s a good bridge between that and the following album California. I’ll go ahead and give it 8/10.
Standouts: Disaster, Pretty Little Girl
California- OK so this is the first record without Tom DeLonge and we get Matt Skiba and I must admit again this is one of those records that I actually really enjoyed more this time around. I guess you could say I was “Bored To Death” of this record when I heard it the first time, but I just couldn’t really get into it. Now I actually really enjoyed it and again this is a band that at first listen you would think it’s just goofy and silly, but they really can write great songs and this record is proof of that. I will say and my podcast cohost Brian also agrees that Matt Skiba really does a great job in this band. He’s not quite like Tom vocally and I feel like the way his voice is, it’s like right there, but it just misses the mark. Either way if you’re on the fence about this record, go back and listen to it because I promise you will really enjoy it.
Previous Score: 5/10
New Score: 8/10
Standouts: She’s Out Of Her Mind, Teenage Satellites, Sober
Nine- the thing about this record is that while I do think it’s a good album as a whole it just tends to drag. The songs are fine, but there’s just way too much filler. I feel like if they had maybe put two or three less songs than the end result might be a little bit better. It just seems like they put songs on here for the sake of doing so. What they should’ve done is released a B sides compilation to this record. But either way it’s fine, but it’s certainly not their best.
Previous Score: 0/10
New Score: 7/10
Standouts: The First Time, Blame It On My Youth, Generational Divide
One More Time- while the last two records were fine, this is definitely a perfect example of a reunion record. Hearing Mark, Tom and Travis play together just seems so natural and this record is a perfect example of why these guys put out such great albums. It does feel a little throwback-y but mixes in the stuff that they were doing on records like the self titled. The silliness and immaturity is there and it’s what makes this band awesome and great. I’m really excited to see what they have to offer as a follow up, but this is definitely a very fun yet serious record. I’m going to give this one 8.5/10
Standouts: Dance With Me, When We Were Young, See You
You know if you would’ve asked me back in the day if I was a fan of this band I definitely would’ve told you no. But between doing this rewind review and seeing them recently I gotta say I think I am definitely more of a fan now than I was before. I mean, you could look at their early 90s stuff and just think that they are some kind of goofy and immature pop punk band but the further down the rabbit hole you go with these guys the more you realize that they’re actually really good musicians. At the end of the day, what do you listen to their older stuff or their newer stuff they’re just really fun records. Even when you go to see them live, they’re just a really fun band. I’m definitely very much looking forward to their next tour because I really want to see these guys again.
Final Grade: A
Previous Album Rankings:
- Blink 182
- Take Off Your Pants And Jacket
- Enema Of The State
- Dude Ranch
- Cheshire Cat
- Buddha
- Neighborhoods
- California
- Nine
New Album Rankings:
- Take Off Your Pants And Jacket
- Blink-182
- Enema Of The State
- Dude Ranch
- The Mark, Tom, And Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back)
- Neighborhoods
- One More Time
- California
- Buddha
- Dogs Eating Dogs
- Cheshire Cat
- Nine
Sinister Reviews 