One More Time...
One More Time... is the ninth studio album by American rock band Blink-182, released on October 20, 2023, through Columbia Records. The album marks the return of guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge following his departure from the band in 2015. DeLonge was prompted to return after bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2021. Following a meeting between DeLonge and his former bandmates, the trio overcame lingering disputes, which later led to DeLonge's return.
Recorded over a span of seven months, One More Time... lyrically explores familiar territory like relationships and maturation, as well as lyrics inspired by the band's own history and Hoppus' battle with cancer. Barker handled the production, largely tracked at his Woodland Hills compound in the band's home state California. The album's digital artwork consists of black-and-white portraits of the trio while physical editions were printed with the band's signature smiley logo, drawn by famed graffiti artist Eric Haze.
One More Time... became the band's third number-one album on the Billboard 200 in the U.S., and reached the top five in a dozen other countries. Of its six pre-release singles, both "Edging" and the title track were top hits on the Alternative Airplay charts domestically. The album itself has generated songs with the highest total number of weeks spent at number one on said chart, with thirty-three weeks total. It received largely favorable responses from music critics, with most celebrating the band's back-to-basics approach. Blink-182 have promoted the album with their supporting tour and the top-grossing World Tour.
A deluxe version of the album, titled One More Time... Part-2, was released on September 6, 2024.
Background
Blink-182 gained mainstream success in 1999 with their third album Enema of the State, and continued with Take Off Your Pants and Jacket in 2001 and their untitled album in 2003. During this time, its core members, including guitarist Tom DeLonge, bassist Mark Hoppus, and drummer Travis Barker developed considerable discord between each other, with DeLonge at its center. This led to the band's 2005 breakup, which was announced as an indefinite hiatus to the public. Hoppus and Barker continued to collaborate in +44, while DeLonge formed Angels & Airwaves and had cut all ties with his former bandmates until 2008, when Barker was involved in a plane crash of which he was one of two survivors. Ultimately, the trio decided they still wanted to make music together, and announced their return the following year.Following their reunion, the band released Neighborhoods in 2011, and an EP titled Dogs Eating Dogs in 2012. During this time, DeLonge became more invested in non-musical activities, mostly related to his passion for UFOs and conspiracy theories. Ultimately, these activities halted his work with the band, creating more tension between him and his bandmates and led to his second departure from the group in 2015. Rather than breaking up again, Hoppus and Barker decided to enlist Alkaline Trio singer and guitarist Matt Skiba to take DeLonge's place. This iteration of the band proved popular, scoring their second number-one album on the Billboard 200 and their first Grammy nomination with their next album, California. This was followed by their eighth studio album Nine in 2019 and extensive touring in support of both releases and celebrating the 20th anniversary of Enema of the State.
Meanwhile, DeLonge began to move further away from his music career as he invested most of his time in his company, To the Stars, and occasionally released new music and toured with Angels & Airwaves. During this time, he began to repair his relationship with Barker, with the two frequently discussing when he could return to the band. Hoppus on the other hand still held some grievances against DeLonge, and while Barker would discuss DeLonge's return to the band with him, he was still uncertain. When DeLonge publicly discussed rejoining, it was not uncommon for Hoppus to deny the possibility.
As the chances of rejoining the band seemed less likely, DeLonge started to become less interested in his music career, telling his wife that he may never tour again. This changed when he was informed that Hoppus had been diagnosed with a rare form of lymphoma in 2021. According to Hoppus, DeLonge was one of the most supportive people during his chemotherapy, with the two speaking frequently up until Hoppus was declared cancer-free later that year.
Hoppus' battle with cancer prompted a secret meeting between him, DeLonge, and Barker to reconvene, overcome old disputes, and reconnect as friends. Soon after, the three decided that the time was right for DeLonge to make his return to the band. Skiba was unaware of DeLonge's return until it was publicly announced in 2022, though he had begun to question whether he was still in the band. Despite this, he showed both excitement and gratitude for the trio, and thanked fans for his time in the band. DeLonge reciprocated by privately reaching out to Skiba on social media to thank him for his time with the band.
Writing and recording
One More Time... was recorded over a period of eighteen months in 2022 and 2023 partly at the band members' respective home studios, and mainly at Barker's studio, The Waiting Room. Barker had purchased this new studio space, in Woodland Hills, California, in 2020, which is where the trio most frequently convened. The complex's white-walled aesthetic led DeLonge and Hoppus to joke it looked like a "punk rock day spa". The band would meet "every other week" for three days at a time for writing sessions and tracking. Afterwards, the members would return to their home studios to further write and complete recording their parts. Much of the early recording was kept secret from the public, as the members wanted to approach DeLonge's return cautiously. Early recording was also stinted by Hoppus' cancer recovery, as chemotherapy had severely damaged both his body and vocal chords. The band first met as Hoppus was completing his final round of chemotherapy. According to Los Angeles Times reporter Amy Kaufman, the band initially progressed slowly, as "it took Hoppus a minute to trust their latest reconciliation after years of DeLonge's inconsistency."One More Time... also marks their first album to be entirely produced by Barker. Prior to the album, Barker had produced a few of the band's previous songs and worked with a few other artists, most notably with Machine Gun Kelly's Tickets to My Downfall. He initially was reticent to broach the subject between the three—"it was a sensitive subject," he confessed in the interview with Kaufman—but simply took control of the process when the rest of the band left for the day, arranging and piecing together songs digitally. All of the guitars were recorded with Fractal's Axe-Fx processor, eliminating the lengthy time needed to solidify guitar tones. Engineer Aaron Rubin used this as a way of mitigating DeLonge's frequent tendency to re-write. Likewise, many of the songs utilize Barker's preset templates and digital plugins he had used at the Waiting Room for other artists. For One More Time..., Barker found himself "taking myself out of being in the band, and being a fan" in a way to help build the songs the way he wanted them to sound. Barker often thought back to their old producer, Jerry Finn, and what he would have done if he were still their producer. In response to a fan question following the album's release, Barker also stated that he would've dedicated the album in memory of Finn.
Most of the drums were tracked on a stainless steel DW kit. Barker used cloth drum dampeners extensively for a focused tone, as he preferred a drum sound without excessive ringing or overtones. Barker noted in a Reverb.com interview that some had questioned if the drums were programmed due to their consistent sound. "They sound dry and quick, and don't take up too much space ," he said. One exception was the stripped-down title ballad, which simply employs brushes on a vintage Ludwig Black Beauty snare from 1938. Most of the time Barker would pick a sample to stack underneath the drums in the mix, but in moderation: "If you rely too much on stacks, why are you even changing snare drums? for the most part, I like to lean on the sound of the snare drum," he said.
Songs
"Anthem Part 3" addresses complacency and encourages self-improvement; with its staccato opening and title, it serves as a sequel in its series. "Dance with Me" is set on a dance floor, and features a prominent "olé olé olé" hook. Barker was meticulous in devising what meter to set the song at, and settled on an uptempo groove he felt maximized its danceability. "Fell in Love" interpolates The Cure classic "Close to Me" and recounts a drunken meeting at a party. "Terrified" originated as a demo between DeLonge and Barker before the band reformed; they felt it was an extension of the style they explored on Box Car Racer.The acoustic title track softly reflects on the band's history and questions why it requires tragedies to prompt reconciliation. As the song climaxes, the band's three members—Barker included, in a rare vocal spot—sing the song's refrain. "More Than You Know" opens with a despondent piano piece but grows in energy and pace; its unconventional chorus repeats "I don't feel pain, but I feel more than you'd ever know." Barker utilizes a double kick drum—typically used in metal—for the first time on each chorus, which adds to the aggression. "Turn This Off!" is a brief, off-color joke song, while "When We Were Young" salutes growing up. "Edging" is a bright, mid-tempo track that was the first song the band released for the album: "I wanted to imagine as a listener what I wanted to experience and at the same time as a band member what we wanted to make and say, and most importantly how it would sound production-wise in 2022," Barker said.
"You Don't Know What You've Got" directly chronicles Hoppus' battle with cancer. "Blink Wave" embraces new wave keyboards and synthesizers, while "Bad News" is a brisk, bitter missive to a relationship gone sour. "Turpentine" uses unrelated concepts, both comical and serious, to explore emptiness: "What if I'm not like the others? / A broken man, a Frankenstein," DeLonge sings. "Fuck Face" is a tribute to hardcore punk that was initially an unrelated demo Barker recorded for fun with longtime collaborator Tim Armstrong. "Other Side" is a tribute to Robert Ortiz, Hoppus' longtime bass technician, who died in 2021. "Childhood" compares the old and young by asking when a youthful sense of the world goes missing. Its outro infuses chiptune with a drum solo.