Take Off Your Pants And Jacket,
Blink 182The band everyone loves-to-hate return with album number six, which sees Blink continue with the same poppy, yet at times edgy, sound that sold them shitloads of copies of Enema of the State.
The first thing you notice about Take Off Your Pants... is the sound quality. Jesus, some money has been spent on the production. Way too much. The sound is very full, with layer upon layer of guitars. The vocals are also a little too clean. Anybody who has seen a Blink live show will know that the band aren't the best musicians. That is except Travis of course. To say his drumming on this album is outstanding would be a big understatement.
The f-word makes a lot of appearances too. At times you would be forgiven for thinking this was an Eminem album... But then again, this is Blink, and purile potty humour is their forte after all.
So, the critics have already slagged this album off. But what is it really like? Well, it's pretty good. In places it has the harder edge the band promised. In others, it's second-rate pop punk. 'Online Songs' is pacy, 'First Date' has all the singalong hooks of 'Mutt' from Enema, and 'Happy Holidays, You Bastard' is 37 seconds of pure genius. Pathetic lyrics, but the sound is simple yet effective. And boy, is that drumming damn fine.
Opener 'Anthem Part Two,' is no 'Dumpweed.' It's no 'Pathetic' either come to think of it. 'Story Of A Lonely Guy' is an amalgamation of 'Going Away To College' and 'Adam's Song,' and definetly a grower. 'The Rock Show' is easily the most instant radio-friendly tune here, but why the weird fade out at the end?
'Stay Together For The Kids' shows the emo edge the band hinted at during the recording process. A definite single, and a worldwide smash for sure. 'Roller Coaster' brings back some pace to proceedings, and 'Reckless Abandon' is another Blink classic.
'Everytime I Look For You' is superb, a definite highlight, possibly my favourite song on the CD. Think a slightly slower 'Don't Leave Me.' 'Give Me One Good Reason' sounds too much like 'Adam's Song.' Just listen to the intro... It is good though, just eerily similar. 'Shut Up' tries to gain the world record for the number of times Mark can sing 'fuck' in one song. A bit of a shit song too. The last song on the normal release is 'Please Take Me Home,' and another highlight. The chorus to this will infest your brain, and this will probably be another single. It's a damn fine way to end the album. Fast and furious, and fucking good.
Lyrically, Take Off Your Pants is average. In places they show the clever, sensitive side that made Dude Ranch such a good album. In others, their childish humour can just be a little too much. Sure, extra track 'Fuck A Dog' is funny the first time, but that's all.
The sticker on the front says that this is Blink's best album yet. It's not. But it's not half bad. A definite grower, and one that teenybopper punks will undoubtedly love. But the critics backlash will unfortunately start here.
It could have been better, but it could also have been much, much worse. Yeah, it does feature the same recycled riffs, but it is Blink, it is funny and it is worth buying.
Paul Savage.
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