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Blink-182 Finds a New Sound with 'Blame it on My Youth'

The band adopts a new sound for an ode to their roots

Blink-182 is back with new music for the first time in three years.

Their latest single, "Blame it on My Youth," just dropped and it is sure to garner plenty of mixed reactions, especially from longtime fans of the band.

This song is a far cry from the Blink-182 that streaked and cursed their way to superstardom in the late '90s. It is nothing like the Blink-182 that tugged on our heartstrings with a freshly macabre take on pop-punk in the early aughts. And it is a departure from the Blink-182 that attempted to recapture the magic of their youthful San Diego sound on their last album, 2016's (tepidly received) California. The band has gone through many changes throughout the years—most notably with the loss of founding member and guitarist, Tom Delonge (who left the band to join forces with the Pentagon in hopes of proving the existence of aliens) and the induction of Alkaline Trio's Matt Skiba to take his place—but "Blame it on My Youth" marks the first time that the band has significantly redefined the signature Blink sound since the 2002 release of the group's self-titled LP.

On their new single, however, the trio sheds most of their pop-punk roots; opting, instead, to serve up a song that sounds more like an indie-fueled pop-rock tune than anything else. Somewhat ironically, though, the song is an ode to growing up punk rock. Bassist-slash-vocalist (and only remaining original member of the band), Mark Hoppus sings, "I wasn't born with the rich blood / I started out with plenty of nothing at all / I got stuck in the thick mud / The flash flood, punk rock, and the alcohol" over relatively toned-down, arpeggiated guitar chords. The song proceeds to open up into a big, anthemic chorus with plenty of chanted group vocals—a sound which, stripped of its context, sounds more like Imagine Dragons than it does Blink-182.

Whether you love or loathe the song, it's definitely good to see Blink branching out into new territory again, breaking free of expectation to give us yet another phase in the band's 27-year evolution.

Blame It On My Youth

Dustin DiPaulo is a writer and musician from Rochester, New York. He received his MFA in Creative Writing from Florida Atlantic University and can most likely be found at a local concert, dive bar, or comedy club (if he's not getting lost somewhere in the woods).

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Amo Amo Offers a Vinyl Sound in a Streaming World

The band's debut album blends classic songwriting with stripped-down production for a refreshingly vintage LP.

Photo by Wendy Scofield on Unsplash

What happens when a talented group of songwriters and musicians teams up with the front-man of My Morning Jacket for their debut full-length album?

Amo Amo happens. The band's eponymous debut is a well-crafted collection of groovy dream pop, but they don't allow themselves to get too wrapped up in the constraints of genre. The band is truly unbridled on their freshman effort, freely and gracefully weaving through an eclectic list of influences, resulting in a sound that is as unique as it is fun and infectious. The eight songs of this release show that Amo Amo is not a band that will allow themselves to be put in a box.

Come for the dream pop ambiance (expertly produced by the veteran of ethereal rock, My Morning Jacket's Jim James) stay for the jam band vibe and solos, funky guitar licks and bass lines, retro soul harmonies, and timeless songwriting. Much of this album sounds like something from another era – oscillating between the '60s, '70s, and '80s. Part of this can be attributed to the sparse and stripped-down, somewhat lo-fi quality of the production, but much of this vintage sound comes from the songwriting itself. It is almost entirely organic, save for a couple of synths layered into the mix here and there.

Amo Amo is not feeding into the trend of heavy sampling, auto-tuned vocals, big electronic drums, or 808 basses that pervade pop music today. They are making modern music the old-fashioned way – with nothing more than a bass, a guitar, a keyboard, a drum set, and a few microphones. This album was made for vinyl.

The band's self-titled debut album comes out on April 26. If you like what you hear, you can catch Amo Amo on tour this summer.

Amo Amo

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