One More Time...

Guitarist Tom DeLonge returned to the group after a seven-year absence.

Blink-182 gained mainstream success in 1999 with their third album Enema of the State, and continued this success in the new millennium with Take Off Your Pants and Jacket in 2001 and their untitled album in 2003.[2][3] During this time, its core members, including guitarist Tom DeLonge, bassist Mark Hoppus, and drummer Travis Barker who joined the band in 1998 following the departure of their original drummer Scott Raynor, began to develop considerable discord between each other, with DeLonge at its center. This eventually led to the band's 2005 breakup, which was announced as an indefinite hiatus to the public.[4] While Hoppus and Barker continued to collaborate together in +44, DeLonge cut all ties with his former bandmates until 2008, when Barker was involved in a plane crash to which he was one of two survivors.[5] Ultimately, the trio decided they still wanted to make music together, and announced their return the following year.[6]

Following their reunion, the band released Neighborhoods in 2011, and an EP titled Dogs Eating Dogs in 2012.[2] 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 lead to his second departure from the group in 2015.[7] Rather than breaking up again, Hoppus and Barker decided to enlist Alkaline Trio singer and guitarist Matt Skiba to take DeLonge's place.[8] This iteration of the band proved popular, scoring their second number-one album on the Billboard 200[9] and their first Grammy nomination with their next album, California.[10] 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, but occasionally released new music and toured with his other band, Angels & Airwaves. During this time, he also began to repair his relationship with Barker, as the two frequently discussed when he could return to the band.[11][12] 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 the band, it wasn't uncommon for Hoppus to deny the possibility.[13][14]

As the chances of rejoining the band seemed less likely, DeLonge started to become even less interested in his music career, even telling his wife that he may never tour again. This entirely changed though when he was informed that Hoppus had been diagnosed with a rare form of lymphoma in 2021.[12][15] 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.[16]

Hoppus' battle with cancer also prompted a secret meeting between him, DeLonge, and Barker to reconvene, overcome old disputes, and reconnect as friends.[4] 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.[17] 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.[18][8]

Recording for the album began in 2022, with most of it being recorded in Barker's personal studio. Much of the early recording was kept secret from the public, as it still hadn't been announced that DeLonge returned to the band. Early recording was also stinted by Hoppus' cancer recovery, as chemotherapy had severely damaged both his body and vocal chords.[12]

One More Time... also marks their first album to be entirely produced by Barker. Prior to the album, he had begun to build a career as a producer with a few of the band's previous songs. Additionally, he began to produce for newer pop punk artists, most notably for Machine Gun Kelly's Tickets to My Downfall.[19] 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. It also wasn't uncommon for Barker to think about their old producer, Jerry Finn, and what he would do if he was producing the album.[12] In responce to a fan question following the album's release, Barker also stated that he would've dedicated the album in memory of Finn.[20]

Lyrically, the album focuses on the growth of the members and the band as a whole, while still including the band's brand of humor. The title track focuses on why tragedies like Barker's plane crash and Hoppus' cancer battle are the things that have to bring them back together.[21] At the same time, songs such as "Dance With Me" and "Edging" include crude jokes that the band became well-known for.[22][23] "Terrified" was originally written by DeLonge in 2002 for his and Barker's side-project, Box Car Racer. DeLonge originally discussed the song in a 2021 interview, and that it was planned to be released as a Box Car Racer song. However, after discussing it with Barker, they ultimately decided they wanted it to come out on as a Blink-182 song.[24][12]

The album's promotional cycle began with the announcement of the band's next world tour, as well as their reunion with DeLonge. News of his return had swirled in fan communities for months,[25] but was officially announced on October 11, 2022 alongside the news that a new album was in the works. Later that week, the album's first single, "Edging", was also released, and pre-order sales for vinyl variants of the album also went up, though the LP lacked a title or release date.[26] "Edging" performed well in the US; it became their longest-running number one hit on Billboard's Alternative Airplay, and the band's highest-charting single on the all-genre Hot 100 in eighteen years.[27] Its music video also was nominated for Best Alternative Video at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards.[28]

Due to the nature of DeLonge's return, the LP was considered to be greatly anticipated.[29][30] In September 2023, posters emblazoned with the album's title and the band's logo were plastered on walls in major cities across different countries, including New York City, Toronto, Chicago, Sydney, Berlin, and more.[31] The group's official site was updated with a "stall" page—a visual of a graffiti-tagged bathroom, with a digital clock icon counting down to the release of the album's second single.[32]

On September 18, 2023, the album's name was officially announced with a release date of October 20, 2023.[33] Later that week, the album's title track and "More Than You Know" released on September 21, 2023.[34] A fourth single, "Dance with Me", was released on October 5, 2023.[35] The fifth single, titled "Fell in Love", was released on October 13, 2023,[36] followed by the sixth single, "You Don't Know What You've Got", which was released on October 18, 2023.[36]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	72/100[37]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[38]
Clash	7/10[39]
Dork	[40]
The Guardian	[1]
The Independent	[41]
Kerrang!	[42]
The Line of Best Fit	9/10[43]
NME	[44]
Pitchfork	5.2/10[45]
Rolling Stone	[46]
The Times	[47]

The album received mostly positive reviews upon its release. Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, scored the album at 72 out of 100, indicating "favorable reviews" based on 12 reviews.[48]

Rolling Stone reviewer Maya Georgi gave the album high marks, observing, "As always, Blink-182 are at their best when they are channeling punk-rock energy and wailing tongue-in-cheek couplets against choppy guitars and Barker’s driving rhythms."[46] Kate Solomon from The Guardian felt that "despite the nods to mortality, Blink have not lost their knack for crafting thumping choruses,"[1] while Spin's Bobby Olivier felt the "explosive" album delivered: "this reconciliation feels fresh, fun [...] it's still the band’s best work in 20 years."[49]

In a mixed review, Stereogum's Pranav Trewn said "As an argument for the alchemic properties of this lineup configuration, the band really sounds like they have something to prove [...] but there are dull moments to be sure, enough that in aggregate those flashes of excitement quickly begin to fade from memory."[50] NME reviewer Emma Wiles found the album "a full circle moment [...] the issue is, however, that it’s perhaps lacking in variety."[44] Helen Brown of The Independent dismissed it as "hardly revelatory,"[41] while GQ writer Yang-Yi Goh found the tunes "glossy, efficient, and largely anodyne [...] most of the songs have had their rough edges sanded down too smooth, and feel more aimed at back-to-basics nostalgia than hard-earned progress."[51]

The band is supporting the release with a large headlining tour between 2023 and 2024.[52] A North American leg commenced mid-year,[53] before the album's release, with festival slots at the inaugural Adjacent Festival in New Jersey,[54] and When We Were Young in Nevada.[55] In September, the band embarked on a tour across Europe, with a series of dates in Australia—the band's first in eleven years—commencing in February 2024.[56] Another leg of shows in Latin America, the band's first time playing there, will start in 2024, including headlining slots at Lollapalooza in Chile, Argentina, and Brazil.[57] The band also made a surprise appearance at Coachella 2023, marking DeLonge's first live appearance with the group since his return.[58] The following weekend, singer Frank Ocean was unable to perform during his time slot, so the band made an impromptu second appearance at the festival in his place.[59]

Twice, multiple tour dates have been postponed, both times because of medical concerns involving Barker. The Latin American leg was initially slated for the first half of 2023, but was postponed after he sustained a serious finger injury that required surgery.[60] Later that year, shows in Glasgow, Belfast, and Dublin were postponed after Barker returned to the United States for an emergency surgery for his wife.[61] During a break in the European leg of tour, he also revealed that he later tested positive for COVID-19, although the illness did not affect any dates.[62]

The North American leg of the tour became their best-performing outing yet, grossing over $85 million.[63]

Notes

• All tracks are stylized in all caps
• "Fell in Love" contains an interpolation of "Close to Me" by the Cure.

Credits adapted from the CD booklet.[64]

• Official website