Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last 12 months, you’ll know all about the very messy and public split between Blink 182 members Mark Hoppus, Travis Barker and Tom DeLonge. While one side (Mr DeLonge) will tell you all was relatively amicable, the remaining pair will say the exact opposite – and according to one mainstream UK magazine this week, the former Blink frontman won’t be on certain people’s Christmas card list this year. But the fallout may have stopped Blink from going down wanky up-their-own-arse territory and inadvertently may have spawned something a bit newer and more interesting – and no I’m not talking about the abomination known as Angels and Airwaves.
In the post-Blink fallout, Mark and Travis formed the electronica-influenced +44, a band that certainly carries on from where Blink left off, yet adds a synth-laden melodic twist. And while this isn’t a patch on ‘Enema of the State’ or ‘Dude Ranch’, it is a better album than AVA’s and it is a lot of fun with a few very fun tracks. It’s no world beater – I think I need to emphasise that – yet I believe there’s enough lasting appeal here to keep me listening for a few good months yet.
+44’s forte is the faster, catchier tracks and ‘When Your Heart Stops Beating’ has a couple of crackers. ‘Lycanthrope’ is the perfect way to get the album going and is sure to be a live favourite. It’s a fist-in-the-air, pogotastic single-in-waiting and sets a very positive tone. It’s also the first song which lyrically nods towards Blink’s passing as Mark sings “I see you looking over my shoulder,” as if Tom was keeping too close an eye on his former friend. Blink fans will obviously relish Mark’s vocal talents – he was the lesser of the whiney pair – and the backing vocals make this opening song a keeper. The album’s title track, and the first single, is brilliant. I didn’t like this song all that much when I first heard it, but like the majority of this album, it quickly grows. Travis’ drumming, while not as much of a knockout as on the last Blink album, still stands head and shoulders above most bands. There’s a mini breakdown towards the end of the track which is as good as this album gets and makes me air drum every time.
From here, for a short while anyway, the album tends to drift a little bit. The pace slows down and I feel +44 suffer for it. ‘Little Death’ is too slow, while ‘155’ and ‘Lillian’ are okay, but not too much more. ‘No It Isn’t’, the first song the band leaked to fans, is another highlight and the most obvious anti-Tom track on there. It’s a slow burner and takes a while to get going, but when it does it will burn in your brain and you will sing along, even if the chrous is a little cheesy. But then that’s +44’s charm – this isn’t a record penned to rewrite a rulebook or make people sit and ponder every chord change or every lyric. This is a reaction to a friend pissing on two others – it’s a fun blast of 12 pop-punk songs that will have Blink fans, plus a whole new batch, singing for months to come.
‘When Your Heart Stops Beating’ is a better album than Angels And Airwarves’ effort, hands down. And while it’s no world beater the lack of pretentious lyrics and overly verbose ‘statements’ and pre-press is refreshing. It’s sad that such a messy split inspired such a good album, but +44 should be proud of this record – it’s well worth your time and effort.