Blink-182 has already written a number of new songs, but don’t expect the band to deliver a follow-up to its self-titled smash in 2003 before its big reunion tour this summer.
“We started writing a few months ago and got well into the writing process, but now we’ve kind of put the recording of the next album on hold and are doing rehearsals for the upcoming tour,” said frontman Mark Hoppus.
After a four-year hiatus, Hoppus, Travis Barker and Tom DeLonge appeared onstage at the 2009 Grammy Awards and announced their reformation as Blink-182.
Hoppus also has been busy in the studio producing Motion City Soundtrack’s fourth album and major-label debut for Columbia Records. Hoppus last worked with the group on its sophomore release, 2005’s “Commit This to Memory.”
That, he says, is an appropriate starting point when it comes to drafting new material for future releases.
“I think that ‘Memory’ is a really great record,” Hoppus said. “For me, it encapsulates what Motion City Soundtrack is and can do. Now they want to make a record that’s along those lines but pushes it even further.”
As for the Minnesota-based electro-pop band’s new material, Hoppus says fans will hear a heavier, more experimental side of the group.
“There’s an edge on this record that I’m really excited about getting into,” he said. “But it still has all the catchiness of everything that I personally love about Motion City Soundtrack. As a fan, it’s really exciting to get to work with them again and help them flesh out this new vision of themselves.”
Bassist and producer Hoppus did not rule out the possibility of taking Motion City Soundtrack out on tour with his newly reunited Blink-182.
“We’re still booking the Blink tour for this summer, so we’ll see how that all ends up working out,” he said. “I would love to tour with Motion City. They’re a really cool band to tour with, and they’re great live, so I wouldn’t be angry at that.”
