Up until recently Blink-182 was a band I dismissed under the category of "pseudo-punk," also known as whiney pop drivel with tattoos and annoyingly infectious melodies. An unfairly harsh judgment perhaps, but I'm a harsh judge of the modern music industry. After buying their self-titled latest release, I'm not sure if I exactly retract my judgment. What I have found, however, is that I like it.

The album opens with the oh-so-deep "I'm Feeling This," also the first single - and why not? Sex sells and so does a catchy riff. Maybe that's part of the reason I bought the album, though the credit goes mostly to the third track and second single, "I Miss You," a simple ballad that you can't not sing along to, especially with the Nightmare Before Christmas allusion ("...we can live like Jack and Sally if we want/where you can always find me/and we'll have Halloween on Christmas..."). Despite downloading both singles, I felt compelled to buy the album on a whim, and I'm glad I did. For me, the stand-out track is number five, the short but powerful "Stockholm Syndrome." A one-minute pre-song sets the tone with piano and a woman speaking of how she misses her lover (with a British accent, of course.) The actual song then explodes into action in true punk fashion. The fast, varying guitars and separate vocal parts, each answering each other ("This is the first (thing I remember)/Now it's the last (thing left on my mind)...") give the song its energy, raging with addictive angst for its full two minutes and forty seconds before fading into the next song, the less captivating but single-worthy nonetheless "Down." Other noteworthy songs include the poppy, can't-help-but-love it track "Always" and the more serious "All of This," featuring none other than The Cure's Robert Smith as vocalist in the album's darkest song. The album ends on a somewhat lighter note with the typical, lighter-waving pop ballad "I'm Lost Without You."

Blink-182 is hardly a masterpiece. However, it's also not a bad album - quite the contrary. Not only is it extremely enjoyable, but it is much more serious and diverse than the band's previous efforts. Blink-182 has grown up for the better, and with material like this I find myself quickly becoming a fan. Sure, their lyrics aren't particularly unique or meaningful, and the musical arrangements, while definitely good, aren't exceptional in quality - but they don't need to be. Blink-182 isn't earth-shattering, but it sure as hell is a lot of fun.