Apr 28, 2016
Little more than a month ago Blink-182 announced that their new album was pretty much done. The album, titled California, will be the band's first recording ever without former singer and guitarist Tom Delonge who was replaced last year by Alkaline Trio's Matt Skiba.
Just yesterday the revamped Blink-182 shared the first single, "Bored to Death," off the upcoming album California. Now they've confirmed California is coming July 1 with a full North American tour to follow.
In earlier interviews about moving on without Delonge, Travis Barker and Mark Hoppus expressed how invigorating it felt to actually be in the studio with Skiba. The pair weren't satisfied with sending audio files back and forth as Delonge was want to do during the recording of 2011's Neighborhoods.
For fans wondering if Blink-182 still has the same pop-punk spark they did back in the day, Producer John Feldmann says rest assured:
Tom and Mark really were a pair of lead singers, but Mark sings a lot of people's favourite songs ... The guys aren't 23 anymore, they're dads now, so they're no longer writing songs about poo and that kind of stuff. But there's still got to be a sense of humour to it; it's got to be fun and funny, but also age appropriate. There's got to be growth on the album and there is. [The Album] sounds fucking great and 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.
With praise like that and assurance from the band that they're back to having a blast in the studio, it's hard not to be excited for some more Blink 182 this summer. Check out the North American Tour listing below and listen to "Bored to Death."
Image: Post-Gazette