Take Off Your Pants & Jacket
Their formula is simple enough--equal parts teenage humor and brattiness combined with infectious guitar hooks that just beg to be cranked up on the stereo. But withTake Off Your Pants and Jacket, the guys in Blink 182 may have delivered their best album to date, a punk-pop fusion that's so consistent you'll wonder which of the 13 tracks will become radio hits (any has the chance, really). Yes, as withDude RanchandEnema of the State, the songs here revolve around falling in love ("The Rock Show," "First Date"), falling out of love ("Online Songs," "Happy Holidays, You Bastard"), and plenty of other ways to kill time while away from school ("Reckless Abandon"). And yes, these guitar-driven songs all pretty much sound the same, butTake Offnever gets boring. There's too much nervous energy here, too many slight variations in the arrangements, and too many hilarious lyrics that you won't want to miss. Parents may remember that theBuzzcocksused this same shtick in the late '70s, older siblings may remember thatGreen Daydid it well not so many years ago, but Blink fans know that their band is more clever than anyone else playing today. The bonus tracks are throwaways, but that's OK--the threesome have given us plenty to bop our heads to here.--Jason Verlinde