California (Blink-182 album)

California
Studio album by Blink-182
Released July 1, 2016
Recorded January–March 2016
Foxy Studios
(Woodland Hills, California)
Length 42:36
Label BMG
Producer John Feldmann
Blink-182 chronology
Neighborhoods
(2011)		 California
(2016)
Singles from California
  1. "Bored to Death"
    Released: April 27, 2016

California is the upcoming seventh studio album by the American rock band Blink-182, set for release on July 1, 2016 through BMG. Produced by John Feldmann, it is the first album by the band to feature vocalist/guitarist Matt Skiba, who replaced former member Tom DeLonge. After touring and releasing the band's sixth album Neighborhoods (2011), it became difficult for the trio to record new material, due to DeLonge's various projects. After disagreements, the remaining members of the group—vocalist/bassist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker—sought separation from DeLonge and recruited Skiba, best-known as the frontman of rock band Alkaline Trio, in his place.

The album was recorded at Foxy Studios between January and March 2016 with Feldmann. He was the group's first new producer since longtime collaborator Jerry Finn. Prior to his involvement, the trio began writing together some months earlier and completed dozens of songs. They decided to shelve them upon working with Feldmann to start fresh, and they proceeded to record another 28 songs; in all, the group recorded upwards of 50. The band, as well as Feldmann, would regularly spend "18 hours" in the studio a day, aiming to start and complete multiple songs in that timeframe. The album's title comes from the band's home state of California, and its artwork was illustrated by the street artist D*Face.

The album was first announced on April 27, 2016; its lead single, "Bored to Death", also debuted. The band will support the album with a large headlining tour across North America between July and October 2016 alongside A Day to Remember.

Background

Previous efforts to record a seventh Blink album were stalled by former guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge.

After reforming, Blink-182 toured worldwide and the group released its sixth studio album, Neighborhoods (2011). The album was recorded largely separately in different studios, an extension of the bandmates' miscommunication and tension.[1] The trio parted ways with their record label, Interscope in 2012,[2] later self-releasing an extended play, Dogs Eating Dogs, that holiday season.[1] Plans for a seventh Blink album were delayed numerous times, reportedly due to guitarist Tom DeLonge's involvement in his other group, Angels & Airwaves, and related projects.[3] In the interim, the band mounted an anniversary tour for its self-titled fifth album,[4] and headlined the Reading and Leeds festivals.[5] Little work was complete by the time DeLonge spoke to Rock Sound in November 2014: "We're just getting to that point of starting [...] there’s no timeline at the moment."[6] By the time a record deal was finalized one month later, DeLonge backed out of recording and performing commitments by email—which led bassist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker to seek legal separation from him.[7]

Hoppus soon revealed that it was "a very, very difficult struggle" to corral DeLonge into working with the group,[8] while Barker asserted that DeLonge's behavior was motivated by money. He also claimed that he quit the band more than once prior to the group's separation.[9] DeLonge countered these accusations by arguing that he was being forced to drop his other projects, calling their actions "defensive and divisive."[10] As he continued to pursue said projects—including a solo album composed of purported Blink demos, To the Stars... Demos, Odds and Ends[11]—he related to the press that was "totally willing and interested in playing with those guys again."[12] Meanwhile, Blink-182 performed two club shows and a slot at the Musink Tattoo Convention & Music Festival in March 2015 with Alkaline Trio vocalist/guitarist Matt Skiba "filling in" for DeLonge.[13] Barker and Hoppus met with Skiba over a lunch to discuss filling in for DeLonge,[9] and began rehearsals with the group.[13] After the shows, Skiba returned to Alkaline Trio for a string of dates and also released Kuts, an album from his other band, The Sekrets.[14] After legal battles with DeLonge were worked out, Skiba rejoined Blink as an official member, and the trio began preparations for new music in August 2015.[15] The trio initially began writing together for the first time at Barker's studio, Opra Music in North Hollywood, in September 2015. The group wrote and recorded demos for upwards of 30–40 songs.[16]

Recording and production

Musician Matt Skiba became a full-fledged band member while recording California.

California was produced by John Feldmann and recorded at his studio, Foxy Studios, in Woodland Hills, California between January and March 2016. Feldmann is the frontman of the band Goldfinger but became better known for his production work with artists such as 5 Seconds of Summer and All Time Low.[17] Barker was the first to reach out to Feldmann about producing, as the two were good friends. He had known the members of Blink for over two decades, as the group had previously performed shows with Goldfinger.[18] He is the first new producer to work with Blink-182 since the death of the band's longtime producer, Jerry Finn, who last worked with the band in 2003. Feldmann "worshipped" Finn and his approach to producing.[19] "I never thought there’d be anybody that could come even close to replacing Jerry, and John is really the closest that we’ve come to someone who could fill that capacity," said Hoppus.[18]

By the time the group decided to work with Feldmann, the band members chose to shelve their earlier demos and start anew, and proceeded to write "28 songs" in a period of 3–4 weeks.[16] These were narrowed down to 14 to put on the finalized album.[20] Barker fought for more songs to be on the album, as he felt fans had waited long enough for more new music.[18] The trio, as well as Feldmann, regularly stayed in the studio for up to "18 hours" a day.[21] They would arrive at the studio with no designs on what to work on for the day. They would then write several songs in only a few hours, aiming to complete them by the end of the night.[22] Feldmann would encourage the musicians to write with speed, which Hoppus admitted could be frustrating. "John was like, 'Okay: We’ve got the song structure. Write lyrics. Go in there and sing it. Go in there and sing it.' Sometimes, I was like, 'I'm not ready to sing!' 'No. Go write something great right now!'" Barker was more supportive of this method based on his work with the Transplants, which had a similar speedy approach. "I always feel like your first instinct is your best," Barker remarked.[18]

"We all wanted to write the best record that we could and everybody was really focused. We’d show up at eight in the morning and stay until two in the morning all week long. And I think that crucible that we lived in for those two months really created something special. It does feel like a new beginning. It feels like when we used to tour and sleep in the van because that’s all we wanted to do is play rock music."

— Mark Hoppus[22]

Feldmann felt it a challenge to work with a new version of Blink while both keeping its legacy and moving the group into a new territory.[19] They felt a breakthrough in direction with the song "Cynical", which they immediately chose as the opening song on the album.[22] According to Hoppus, the band in all recorded "nearly 50 songs."[23] By mid-February, the album was "70–80%" complete, according to Barker,[24] and work was reportedly completed in early March 2016.[20][21] By the end of March, the group were still narrowing down the songs that would be present on the album.[23] The trio posted their progress via their respective social media accounts during the recording, in the form of Snapchat and Instagram clips.[25] All parties seemed satisfied with the record. While recording, Barker told an interviewer that "It's honestly the best material we’ve written or put out in years. I haven't been excited about a Blink album like this in a long time."[26] Feldmann commented, "I'm just so excited to have people hear it. I'd say it's one of the best records I've ever made in my life."[21]

Composition

Music

John Feldmann, seen here in 2015, was Blink-182's first new producer in over a decade.[27]

Hoppus considered the music on the album wide-ranging, commenting, "We tried to capture the energy and not worry so much about all the knobs." This includes songs he felt sounded like the group circa 1999, "super-fast late-Nineties-punk-rock-sounding songs," as well as more progressive songs "that are like nothing we have ever done before."[28] Overall, he considered the record "really rich with sing-along melodies and sing-along choruses," which was what he preferred most when listening to bands.[22] Feldmann considered the music not a "huge departure" from the Blink's usual sound,[21] as hoped to make a "classic Blink record." To familiarize himself, he listened to all of the band's catalogue prior to recording.[29] Lisa Worden, music director at Los Angeles radio station KROQ, compared its sound to the second Blink album Dude Ranch and commented, "It sounds like Blink but it's not anything that we’ve heard before. For fans of the band, they’re going to be super happy with it."[30]

Lyrics

Hoppus considered his lyrical content more or less the same as prior releases: "The topics are universal. There is a lot of angst that could be teen angst or it could be angst of everyday life. I still have the same emotions I had 20 years ago – I get frustrated or I get excited. I still feel like I'm falling in love with my wife."[28] Though in the past he preferred to ruminate on his lyrics for days on end,[18] Feldmann's speedy process gave Hoppus little time to process them.[22] Despite this, he felt he wrote "some of the best lyrics I’ve written in a long time for this record, because I didn’t have a chance to go and overthink things."[18] "Bored to Death" was the first song the band recorded with Feldmann on the group's first day of work with him.[16] "Home Is Such a Lonely Place" is a ballad with "clean arpeggiated finger-picking guitars with strings underneath it."[28] "Built This Pool" is a short joke song with homoerotic lyrics.[31]

Artwork and title

Graffiti with a similar theme by D*Face in Los Angeles in 2011.

The album's artwork was created by English street artist D*Face. Barker was a fan of his work, having bought many of his pieces at his galleries in the past. According to D*Face, the trio "wanted the artwork to represent California, but with a subversive side to show that it's not always great and there's always something under the surface, in the underbelly." The artist was particularly busy, and employed pre-existing but unfinished illustration for the album cover. He also offered two alternate pieces that were rejected, but later posted on NME's website. Skiba and Barker were pleased, but Hoppus was not as immediately receptive, according to the artist. While he did not admit to being a fan of the group, D*Face was happy with the commission, commenting, "To have a band with such a great legacy and talent like Blink ask to work with you is a great honour and privilege."[32]

The title California is representative of the band's home state, and was picked after the band members realized they had written multiple songs relating to its cities and culture. The title was also inspired by the season and Feldmann's studio: "It was a perfect California winter, and it was sunny and hot every single day. John’s studio, it’s basically indoor-outdoor with palm trees everywhere."[18] Though he refrained from dubbing it a concept album, Skiba considered the songs linked thematically: "big and bright and huge and dark and twisted, everything that California is."[18] "The title of this album was one of the most difficult things I've done in my entire life," said Hoppus.[16] Alternate titles for the album included No Future, which was dropped because it seemed too negative, and the joke titles OB-GYN Kenobi, Nude Erection, and No Hard Feelings.[33] D*Face also reported that the titles Los Angeles and Riot were nearly used.[32]

Release

The album was announced alongside the lead single, "Bored to Death", on Los Angeles radio station KROQ on April 27, 2016.[33] The album's release date is typically the 182nd day of the year, but due to it being a leap year, it will be the 183rd.[16] California is the band's first release through BMG Rights Management, and also among BMG's first releases through its distribution deal with the Alternative Distribution Alliance.[34] On May 5th, 2016, the band released a lyric video for the homoerotic joke song "Built This Pool", as well as a free download of the song from the the group's official website.

Touring

Main article: California Tour

Following the band's first performances with Skiba in 2015, Barker alluded to a potential tour with rock group A Day to Remember.[12] The tour behind California will begin July 22 in San Diego and concludes on October 1 in Los Angeles. The trek will be supported by A Day to Remember, as well as the All-American Rejects and All Time Low on certain dates.[35] Prior to the headlining tour, the group is set to perform at several festivals, including X Games Austin 2016,[36] Firefly Music Festival,[37] Big Field Day, Amnesia Rockfest,[38] and Kerfuffle 2016.

Track listing

Song titles adapted from the album's iTunes Store listing.[39]

California
No. Title Length
1. "Cynical"   1:55
2. "Bored to Death"   3:55
3. "She's Out of Her Mind"   2:42
4. "Los Angeles"   3:03
5. "Sober"   2:59
6. "Built This Pool"   0:16
7. "No Future"   3:45
8. "Home Is Such a Lonely Place"   3:21
9. "Kings of the Weekend"   2:56
10. "Teenage Satellites"   3:11
11. "Left Alone"   3:09
12. "Rabbit Hole"   2:35
13. "San Diego"   3:12
14. "The Only Thing That Matters"   1:57
15. "California"   3:10
16. "Brohemian Rhapsody"   0:30
Total length:
 42:36

References

  1. 1 2 Dan Hyman (November 13, 2012). "Blink-182 EP 'A Hundred Times Better' Than Neighborhoods, Says Travis Barker". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 15, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  2. ↑ James Montgomery (October 24, 2012). "Exclusive: Blink-182 Talk Split With Interscope Records". MTV News. Archived from the original on October 27, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  3. ↑ Tom Williams (April 26, 2014). "Hoppus And Barker "Waiting" For New Blink-182 Album". Music Feeds. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  4. ↑ Chris Lee (October 25, 2013). "Blink-182 announces two additional L.A. performances". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  5. ↑ Alice Vincent (December 4, 2013). "Blink 182 to headline Reading and Leeds Festival 2014". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Tom DeLonge: "This Has Never Been Done In The History of Rock 'n' Roll"". Rock Sound. November 11, 2014. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  7. ↑ Mikael Wood (May 28, 2015). "Tom DeLonge officially leaving Blink-182 in 'friendly divorce'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  8. ↑ Jason Newman (January 26, 2015). "Blink-182's Hoppus, Barker Blast 'Ungrateful, Disingenuous' Tom DeLonge". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  9. 1 2 Barker Travis & Edwards, Gavin (ed.). Can I Say: Living Large, Cheating Death, and Drums, Drums, Drums. HarperCollins. p. 355. ISBN 978-0062319425.
  10. ↑ Jason Newman (January 27, 2015). "Blink-182's Tom DeLonge Defends Himself Against Bandmates' Accusations". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  11. ↑ Tyler Sharp (February 28, 2015). "Tom DeLonge to release Blink-182 demos, more on new album, ‘To The Stars’". Alternative Press. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  12. 1 2 Gary Graff (September 1, 2014). "Tom DeLonge Is 'Totally Willing and Interested' in Playing With Former Blink-182 Bandmates Again". Billboard. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  13. 1 2 Steve Baltin (March 23, 2015). "Travis Barker on New Lineup Post-Tom DeLonge Exit: 'It's Definitely a Great Feeling'". Billboard. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  14. ↑ Gary Graff (April 17, 2014). "New Blink-182 Guitarist Matt Skiba: 'A Lot of Things Have to Happen Before We Can Make Any Solid Plans'". Billboard. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  15. ↑ Will Butler (July 22, 2015). "Blink 182 to hit studio in August with Matt Skiba". Gigwise. Archived from the original on July 24, 2015. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 Gil Kaufman (April 28, 2016). "Blink-182 Talks 'Brohemian Rhapsody,' Andre 3000 & Gross Album Titles They Rejected". Billboard. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  17. ↑ Maria Sherman (March 7, 2016). "The Complete Guide to Blink-182's New Album". Fuse.com. Archived from the original on March 18, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hilary Hughes (April 29, 2016). "Blink-182 Q&A: Why Their New 'California' Album 'Feels Like Home'". Fuse.com. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  19. 1 2 Maria Sherman (February 29, 2016). "John Feldmann On Blink-182: Travis Barker Is 'The Best Drummer To Have Ever Lived'". Fuse.com. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  20. 1 2 Harley Brown (March 7, 2016). "Travis Barker Confirms New Blink-182 Album Is Finished". Spin. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  21. 1 2 3 4 Ian Winwood (March 16, 2016). "Blink-18News". Kerrang! (1611). p. 6.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 Steve Baltin (April 29, 2016). "Blink-182 Take It Back To The Beginning With New Album". Forbes. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  23. 1 2 Jay Tilles (March 24, 2016). "Blink-182 Has New Music, and We’ve Heard It". Radio.com. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  24. ↑ Tyler Sharp (February 15, 2016). "Blink-182 pulled a Green Day and scrapped all initial songs for comeback album". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on March 16, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  25. ↑ Maria Sherman (February 10, 2016). "Hear All of Blink-182's New Demos Here". Fuse.com. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  26. ↑ Kelly McClure (February 15, 2016). "Blink-182 Wrote An Entire New Album And Then Scrapped It". Maxim. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  27. ↑ Laurence Mozafari (March 6, 2016). "Blink-182’s new album is finished says Travis Barker". NME. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  28. 1 2 3 Steve Appleford (April 29, 2016). "Blink-182 Celebrate Rebirth at Goofy L.A. Karaoke Bash". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 29, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  29. ↑ Maria Sherman (May 5, 2016). "Producer John Feldmann on Blink-182's 'Bored to Death': 'It Gave Me Goosebumps on the Spot'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  30. ↑ Gil Kaufman (March 25, 2016). "First Single From New Blink-182 Lineup Coming Soon". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 25, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  31. ↑ Maria Sherman (April 28, 2016). "Blink-182 Tease Another New Track, 'Built This Pool': Listen". Fuse.com. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  32. 1 2 Sam Moore (May 4, 2016). "D*Face Interviewed: The London Street Artist Behind Blink-182's New Album Art". NME. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  33. 1 2 "Blink-182 Premieres New Song ‘Bored to Death’". Radio.com. April 27, 2016. Archived from the original on April 28, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  34. ↑ Ed Christman (April 28, 2016). "Warner Music's Global Deal for BMG's Catalog Sets Up Showdown With RED". Billboard. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  35. ↑ "Blink-182 to Tour with A Day To Remember & All Time Low". Radio.com. April 27, 2016. Archived from the original on April 28, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  36. ↑ Jon Blistein (March 24, 2016). "Blink-182, G-Eazy Headlining Summer X Games in Austin". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  37. ↑ Rachel Brodsky (November 18, 2015). "Firefly Music Festival 2016 Lineup: Blink-182, Florence + the Machine, Tame Impala, More". Spin. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  38. ↑ Harley Brown (March 23, 2016). "Amnesia Rockfest 2016 Lineup: Jane’s Addiction, Blink-182, Limp Bizkit, Ice Cube, More". Spin. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  39. ↑ "California by blink-182". iTunes. Retrieved April 27, 2016.

External links

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