Pop-punk lifers blink-182 return today with two new songs: “ONE MORE TIME”—the title track off their forthcoming ninth studio album and first since 2011 to feature the classic lineup of guitarist Tom DeLonge, bassist Mark Hoppus, and drummer Travis Barker—and “MORE THAN YOU KNOW.” The former is a spare, sincere rumination on the band’s strained interpersonal relationships, and it’s already racing up the Genius Top Songs chart.
“ONE MORE TIME” finds the blink boys working with outside songwriters, namely Aldae, best known for co-authoring Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers,” and Andrew Goldstein, whose credits include Britney Spears, Demi Lovato, and Machine Gun Kelly. The song was produced by Travis Barker, who says in a trailer for the album that the lyrics examine the question, “Why does it take these catastrophes like me being in a plane crash or Mark being sick for our band to get back together?”
The first verse goes to DeLonge, who alludes to the hardships that have plagued this band in the 21st century. The trio was on hiatus from 2005 to 2009, during which time Barker was involved in a horrific September 2008 plane crash that killed four people and left him severely burned. After their subsequent reunion, DeLonge left the group in 2015 and didn’t play on their next two albums albums, 2016’s California and 2019’s Nine. The trio finally got back together in 2022 to release the song “Edging” and prepare for a massive tour that included a headline performance at Coachella in 2023. Through these intense ups and downs, Tom, Mark, and Travis haven’t always been on the best terms.
Strangers, from strangers into brothers
From brothers into strangers once again
We saw the whole world
But I couldn’t see the meaning
I couldn’t even recognize my friends
The second verse goes to Hoppus, who references his 2021 battle with cancer, as well as Barker’s crash.
Older, but nothing’s any different
Right now feels the same, I wonder why
I wish they told us, it shouldn’t take a sickness
Or airplanes falling out the sky
DeLonge pops back in for the pre-chorus and wonders whether horrible things need to happen in order for the band members to share their feelings with each other.
Do I have to die to hear you miss me?
Do I have to die to hear you say goodbye?
I don’t want to act like there’s tomorrow
I don’t want to wait to do this one more time
Hoppus and DeLonge join voices in the third verse, where they share what they’ve learned and vow to speak openly and affectionately with each other going forward.
I miss you, took time, but I admit it
It still hurts even after all these years
And I know that next time, ain’t always gonna happen
I gotta say, “I love you” while we’re here
“ONE MORE TIME” arrived with a music video in which the group performs in front of various backdrops that signal major moments in their career. These include the Warped Tour ’99 stage and the set of TRL, where blink were unlikely heartthrobs in the late ’90s and early ’00s. The clip ends with a video montage designed to bring a tear to the millennial eye.
One More Time… is due out October 20. In the meantime, you can read all the lyrics to “ONE MORE TIME” and “MORE THAN YOU KNOW” on Genius.
