Is Blink 182 really Blink 182 without Tom DeLonge?

Blink 182 have just released their first single ‘Bored to Death’ since the departure of the OG guitarist, and many are labeling the new Blink 182 as simply sacrilegious. Spanning 4 minutes, this tune-rag features the replacement of Matt Skiba of moody emo heroes Alkaline Trio, with an LP called California dropping on July 1st. The album will be the first from the mischievous trio since 2011’s Neighborhoods and features production from Goldfinger’s John Feldmann.

Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker has told the press that former band mate Tom DeLonge quit the band because he was “basically just tapped out” and was “being extremely difficult” about wanting to change the band’s pop-punk sound. “Tom was obsessed with U2. He wanted to sound like U2, to record songs that basically sound like Coldplay.” Fortunately, this was not an option for Barker as he said that “Blink is Blink, man. We want to sound like fucking Blink 182.”

AMEN.

Get your hair gel ready, because if you can look past the lineup omissions, this song is actually pretty nice. Listen below, where you’ll also find the California tracklist, which features a closing track called ‘Brohemian Rhapsody’. Dear lord. Hopefully it sounds something like ‘Bro Hymn‘ by Pennywise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yGipyel-3I

BLINK 182 CALIFORNIA

Cynical
Bored to Death
She’s out of Her Mind
Los Angeles
Sober
Built This Pool
No Future
Home Is Such a Lonely Place
Kings of the Weekend
Teenage Satellites
Left Alone
Rabbit Hole
San Diego
The Only Thing That Matters
California
Brohemian Rhapsody