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California Deluxe -- Reviews/First Impressions


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23 minutes ago, MattSkibbasuxatguitar said:

Hmm need more listens. I think the bridges are clearly better aside BTD is a keeper, but it's so frustrating to have the same intro over and over and the first 3 songs just blow so hard imo kinda shitty to have 3 in a row like that.  The vocal tradeoffs is just getting out of hand.  Blink had 5 songs TOTAL of vocal trade offs since Enema I wanna say.  I'd like a Mark only or Matt only song by now.

There were solid moments in Cali, like Cynical Mark verse, Bored to Death, No Future bridge, TOTTM vibe.  There's some of those here forsure, possibly more, but they all sound too similar at this point it's hard to hear a bridge and say THAT was from Wildfire or THAT was from Good Old Days.

Quoting myself like a douche. But the high are definitely better than Cali. If you removed the first 3 songs (for me), it's better.

This sounds nothing like Blink, and it's better than when they do try that now.  I'm actually shocked a bit, I thought it'd be junk after the releases, and Cali.

BOTO, Long Lost Feeling, LAST TRAIN HOME,  Hey I'm Sorry aren't the greatest thing ever but are all better or as good as the best of California.  Bored to Death acoustic randomly is good too.

 

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27 minutes ago, MattSkibbasuxatguitar said:

Last Train Home saved Skibas career as far as I'm concerned.  Where's this voice been?  Stop trying to sing/yell so much like a boyband and bring on the rhaspy punk

 

When's the last time you heard a boy-band  yell?

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Cynical: 7/10

BTD: 8/10

SOOHM: 4/10

Los Angeles: 3/10

Sober: 6/10

Built this Pool: 9/10

No Future: 5/10

HISALP: 3/10

KOTW: 4/10

Teenage Satellites: 5/10

Left Alone: 3/10

Rabbit Hole: 6/10

San Diego: 7/10

TOTTM: 7/10

Cali: 5/10

Brohemian: 3/10

Avg. 5.3/10

- - - - -

Parking Lot: 1/10

Misery: 4/10

Good Old Days: 4.5/10

Don't Mean Any: 6/10

Hey I'm Sorry: 8/10    (fkn intro..)

Last Train Home: 9/10

Wildfire: 6.5/10

Six Eight: 5.5/10

Long Lost Feeling: 7/10

BOTO: 7.5/10

CGYMP:  2/10

BTD acoustic: 7/10

Avg. 5.75/10

 

Deluxe wins for me

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Alright here's my thoughts

Parking Lot - Still not as bad as most people think i could really do without the NANAs and i'm glad that wasn't on Part 1.

Misery - One of my favorite off of Part 2 LOVE Marks bass line in here it's simple yet i enjoy it. LOVE the bridge to this one as well.

Good Old Days - Not horrible but probably my least favorite so far.

Don't Mean Anything - Really like the guitar into on this. Song has a dark vibe to it which i think is great.

Hey I'm Sorry - This song has grown on me since it got released last year, still could do without the Woah in it during the chorus.

Last Train Home - The open riff in this rules also really LOVE Matt on this song. Matt REALLY shines here.

Wildfire - LOVED this one from the start. Easy song to jam to.

6/8 - love that they actually tried something different time was here.

Long lost feeling - LOVE the intro i get a real +44 vibe here with this song

Bottom of the Ocean - I see the LA similarities here but i like this one better. Love the chorus on this one.

Can't get you more preggo...Music aint horrible but the song is just meh...

REALLY enjoyed the 2nd album a lot. I'd say 8/10 for me.

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First impression: not bad but not great. Strangely I like Wildfire a lot more now lol. Parking Lot doesn't sound as bad as it sounded before. Misery still sounds good. Can't Get You More Pregnant Still sucks. Hey I'm Sorry is still decent.

The only track we haven't heard that stood out to me on first listen was Last Train Home. I'm so glad they didn't bomb that song. Actually, blink sounds much more focused and hard-hitting on California Deluxe. Especially Skiba. He is killing it. ^^

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i think as a whole it's still a bunch of really uninspired, formulaic tracks, with a slightly more unusual slant than cali. by that i mean there's some more unconventional instrumentation in areas, at least in comparison to cali, but all of them for me are tainted by the same cut-and-pasted anthemic earworm chorus. i've always been a fan of mindless catchy music, but blink used to give me more than that. it's all bland and blends together for me, and the harsh production makes it indistinguishable from any of feldmann's other factory product.

there's some bright spots. 6/8 is still enjoyable for me (anyone notice matt's final scream is longer on the album version?), and i still find parking lot to be nowhere near as painful as it was made out to be. the bored to death acoustic rendition is comforting and charming, and i didn't hate last train home on my first listen (and i thing BOTO will grow on me too). but even those last two seem very forgettable. don't mean anything is standard pop punk from 2002 and long lost feeling goes nowhere. good old days finds mark somehow still talking about not wanting to grow up. and amazingly, matt keeps sneaking in the same damn riff in every song, which is insulting as a listener.

i'm not sure what i even want from this band anymore. i know it's obvious they're not the same band anymore, but i really regret the decision to move on without tom, as irritating as he was. it's changed things for the worse stylistically. i don't think mark is really into this either... i think he knows it's bad but is enjoying the success or has mellowed with age to the point to where he doesn't care. i really, really hope the next record is different or else i'm gonna have to jump ship. i love blink-182 but the stuff they're churning out right now is not up to par for me.

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1 minute ago, ungroovy said:

Am I the only one who gave SO MANY fucks about that BTD acoustic? It sounds soooooo nice. The harmony!!!

yeah, it's a nice version! i'm more into it than any other song on the record lol

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