NINE

Whether or not this slightly grown-up iteration of blink lasts more than this one record remains to be seen, but on NINE it feels like the band are finding a new lease of life in the dark days of 2019.

Look past the garish neon, the jarring pop and confused self-image, and what you find is a surprisingly somber and moving piece of work that might just stay with you.

While Nine is by no means a dour emo record, it carries enough emotional heft to elevate it as one of blink-182's strongest late-era efforts, one that matures the typical blink sound with its commitment to vulnerability and honesty.

The band’s second album with former Alkaline Trio frontman Matt Skiba on hand is a nuanced success.

Despite having, ahem, run out of steam when it comes to creative album titles, Blink still have it in them to release a pleasant, melodic album that will definitely strike a chord with existing fans. Winning new fans over, however, doesn’t look incredibly likely.

The shiny, beat-heavy sound of nu-blink-182 works in starts and stops, but feels half as fun as the band used to be.

Blink-182’s second album with Matt Skiba is ultimately subpar, weighed down by stereotypical lyrics and cloying choruses. Producers John Feldmann and Tim Pagnotta’s heavy use of compression makes NINE as in-your-face as possible, not giving the songs the necessary breathing room to develop without overproduction.

At its best, NINE is catchy but forgettable pop-rock candy that’s too sweet for its own good.

Nine brings nothing new to the table and most attempts by the band to feel relevant are either uninspired or embarrassing.

Nine will be looked back on as a casualty of the streaming era, when quantity rules, and quality is non-existent.

NINE reeks of adolescence — and not in the goofy, humorous way of Blink-182's past, but in a cringe-y attempt at youthful angst. There are no slyly couched bits of wisdom, no life lessons learned between goof-ups and heartbreak, and it's altogether too earnest and self-serious to even be enjoyed as carefree fun.

Nine will have you crying "nein" the whole way through.