26 December 2012
By Stephen Park, Staff Writer
California’s own pop-punk sensation, Blink-182, is back with a brand new EP entitled Dogs Eating Dogs and has surpassed the expectations their previous album, Neighborhoods, had failed to meet.
After a four year hiatus, many fans were excited to see what the band had to offer. Two years later, they released their sixth studio album Neighborhoods. Shortly after, Blink-182 announced they would be coming back with a brand new EP and that they would part ways with major record label Interscope/Geffen studios. Dogs Eating Dogs is surprisingly robust and varied, and far more enjoyable than Neighborhoods. It sounds more like Blink-182 and not an Angels and Airwaves reboot.
The band kicks off their brand new EP with a haunting goodbye song entitled “Boxing Day.” It is beautiful and showcases Blink-182’s ability to craft a memorable and cinematic acoustic song. It’s filled with spacey guitar effects and contains some of the best lyrics Blink-182 has ever offered. But the album soon picks up with “Disaster,” a faster-paced song that resembles their previous hit “Always.” “When I Was Young” is thought-provoking and, when combined with Tom’s pristine vocals and Travis Barker’s always impressive drum work, constitutes another stand-alone gem to the EP. The collection culminates with the song “Dogs Eating Dogs” led by Mark Hoppus, which illuminates with the memory of an old Blink-182 song packed with high energy, and in my opinion is the best song on the album. The final song “Pretty Little Girl” is the only drawback of the entire album. It’s different, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but long story short, Yelawolf has no place in a Blink-182 song.
Dogs Eating Dogs is the collection of songs every Blink-182 fan wanted after their big return. It’s impressive to say the least and feels like the start of an amazing new chapter in the band’s legacy.
8.5/10
Courtesy of g.purevolumecdn.com