Blink-182 is arguably one of the best and most successful punk rock bands of all time. The trio has left a larger mark on today’s music than most musicians could dream of doing. They are punk rock legends and a cultural merge between the 90’s and the new millennium. Not counting their hiatus, they’ve been a band for over 20 years.
I was beyond ecstatic when I heard Neighborhoods last year. The change in style through their side projects Angels and Airwaves and +44 after their self titled album was an unexpected surprise. To go from songs like “Feeling This” to “Up All Night” in the span of one album was a pleasant mind shock. Neighborhoods ushered in a new age for Blink-182 and for the development of the standard for rock. This EP is the perfection of the new sound of Blink-182, one that demands your immediate attention.
Boxing Day as far as I figure is the first acoustic song by the band since Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. It is fantastic, and in theme of the holidays! It’s great to hear Mark and Tom on dual parts throughout most of the EP, and they are one of the only bands in mainstream music that has had noticeable interchangeable singers throughout their career, something that has certainly set them apart from the rest.
The lyrical perfection of Dogs Eating Dogs is hard to articulate. Each song has such a different feel and progression, and a dark vibe with the instrumentals and lyrics we first saw on Neighborhoods. It was beyond awesome Blink decided to incorporate Yelawolf on “Pretty Little Girl”– an incredibly interesting addition , no doubt thanks to Barker’s recent collaborations with the rapper. Travis lays some mind blowing drum parts throughout the EP besides in the timid natured “Boxing Day”, and if you get the chance look at the recording of him doing “Dogs Eating Dogs” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teuQ9sw5a6k . It’s easy to forget his mastery of the drums, and how invaluable that skill is to the group which has fairly simple guitar and bass.
I cannot pick a favorite song off of this EP. It is that good. It’s actually easier to say that the song I am least crazy about is disaster, which is still a great song. Dogs Eating Dogs’s is so exciting because it means that Blink is far from finished with its creative blood, which signals the inevitability of more fantastic music. You or anyone you know who doesn’t own this is wasting precious brain cells that could be dedicated to the auditory perfection that is Dogs Eating Dogs.
I give it a 9.8/10
As AJ Thinks 