Dogs Eating Dogs

After Neighborhoods, the band felt the recording methods used were inadequate. Tom DeLonge, who originally advocated the method of using separate studios/e-mails to dictate the majority of the recording, admitted that it led to a loss of unity.[5] Travis Barker noted that, "there's some songs on there that I love, but for the most part it was disconnected. It was like, 'You do this part in your studio, and then you're gonna play on it and send it back to me.' When we're not in the studio together, you don't have the opportunity to gel off each other." In addition, Barker was still recovering from his plane crash in 2008; he stated he was a "bloody mess" at the time.[6] During the band's 20th Anniversary Tour in Europe, Barker was the first to approach DeLonge and Hoppus with the idea of immediately returning to the studio in the fall. "It was like three days after Halloween and Tom was like, 'Dude, we should do that!'" They entered the studio on November 5. They found a flexibility to do things their own way without label intervention and it inspired creativity and agility. Mark Hoppus described: "It was great, ideas falling everywhere. Lots of long hours spent on five new songs. [...] The band is in a great place creatively. Having everyone in the same room at the same time makes all the difference for us."[7]

The EP's opening track, "When I Was Young", revisits childhood from an adult viewpoint. Spin described the track as "cynical but sentimental", comparing the opening pipe organ to Arcade Fire.[9] The title track is led by Hoppus and has been compared to Hoppus and Barker's previous side project, +44, and the band Alkaline Trio. Alternative Press referred to it as the "angriest, most aggressive song" on the EP.[10] "Disaster" opens with "manipulated radio frequencies and anthemic marching drum hits" that recalls DeLonge's band Angels & Airwaves.[10] "Boxing Day", originally titled "The Day After Christmas", began as an acoustic folk number before Barker added an electronic drum kit, creating what Hoppus described as a "real kind of indie, strange, cool vibe to it."[8] A week prior to the EP's release, the song "Boxing Day" was streamed through Alternative Press.[1] The fifth and final track, "Pretty Little Girl", was originally titled "I Got My Eye on You" and was written by DeLonge for his wife.[8] It features a guest appearance from rapper Yelawolf. The track carries a new wave influence and synthesizers are most prominent in the mix.[10]

Gregory Heaney of AllMusic said that the EP, like Neighborhoods, explores "a more expansive prog-punk sound", similar to Hoppus and Barker’s aforementioned side project +44.[11]

Blink-182

• Mark Hoppus – bass, vocals, producer
• Tom DeLonge – guitars, vocals, synthesizers, producer
• Travis Barker – drums, percussion, keyboards, synthesizers, producer

Production

• Chris Holmes – co-producer
• Aaron Rubin – engineer
• Franco Vescovi – cover artwork

Additional musicians

• Yelawolf – vocals on "Pretty Little Girl"