Blink-182 is back with two killer tracks that evoke the untitled era of the band.

“One More Time” and “More Than You Know” have me VERY pumped about the band again.

I’m a completely unabashed Blink-182 fan, even if that puts me at odds with the masses of the punk rock crowd I tend to fit in with. Yes, I know they are a pop-punk, and have leaned into pop more often than punk at times, but man do they write GOOD songs. I think as someone who is just trying to fake it as a successful adult, there’s also a lot of emotion to connect within Blink’s songs. I could write a whole separate thesis on “What’s My Again Again”, “Going Away To College”, “Adam’s Song”, or “Feeling This”.

But what we are here to talk about right now is the band’s new music, which shows a lot more depth than last year’s teaser single “Edging”. While “Edging” was a fun, vintage-sounding Blink sing a long to hum in the car, the newest singles point towards the band’s self-titled album era. Most of us know that album as being more experimental for the band, with emo, alternative rock, and even some metal influences throughout.

Let’s start with the title track of the upcoming October 20th release, “ONE MORE TIME”. This song is a clear throwback to “I Miss You” in terms of lyrics, orchestration, and the haunting atmosphere. It would be kind of a cheesy track about the band’s reconnecting if it wasn’t for the very real chances that both Mark and Travis could have died.

“Do I have to die to hear you miss me, do I have to die to hear you say goodbye?” is a clear reference to Mark’s recent battle with cancer that ultimately reunited the band.

“I wish they told us, it shouldn’t take a sickness. Or airplanes falling out the sky.” Pretty on the nose, but honestly in this context it works beautifully as you can tell there is genuine emotion behind this song. They wrote it for themselves, not just to have a ballad-y single for the record. One of the biggest reasons I suspect that is this is now 3 songs from the new album where they share vocal duties basically throughout the whole song. In my opinion, you can tell that Mark and Tom are loving writing together again. “ONE MORE TIME” is a good song, even if it’s not going to be the one we all remember from this album. It definitely shows an impressive level of growth in songwriting skills for Tom in particular, who often left his more adventurous melodic adventures for Angels & Airwaves.

But the real star of the show for me is “MORE THAN YOU KNOW”. This song sounds like what we all dreamed the Neighborhoods album would sound like it. It has that heavy, pulsing emo sound from the untitled album, multiple hooks, and one of Travis’s best drum tracks for the band yet. There’s also the undeniable return of major guitar riffs to the band with this song and Tom’s return.

While I love the California album, I don’t really think it’s much of a Blink album. It feels like a Mark solo album, which is great! But this is a Blink song and a Blink album in sound, feel, and songwriting. I’m not sure this song, or album, will have the wide, mainstream appeal of their earlier stuff, but I think it will be a tremendous album for lifelong Blink fans. It remains to be seen if there will be a real “First Date” or “All The Small Things” sing-a-long that will dominate the charts. But what’s been delivered so far is an album where a wiser, more skilled Blink-182 is treating their fans to great songwriting.

“MORE THAN YOU KNOW” has been on repeat for me these last couple days and likely will be for awhile longer. It’s thematically very Blink, with a slightly intelligent but still juvenile look at the complexity of relationships and balancing their immaturity with the realities of adult life. The juxtaposition of a mellow Mark verse, chaotic washed out pre-chorus, and then an ear worm Tom hook on the chorus. His voice sounds especially great in these new songs, still nasally and distinct, but definitely mellowed with age (in a good way).

I’m undeniably stoked for the whole album, and think that a lot of us ’90s kids are going to find something to connect with here.