THE NEW GENERATION OF ROCK

Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker gave Billboard an update on the band’s eighth studio LP, saying, “I’m really excited because we’re about 70 percent finished with our album. I feel like this is the closest we’ve come to something like 2003’s Blink-182, which is one of my favorite Blink albums by far.” Asked why he compared the upcoming set to the 2003 self-titled effort, Barker explained, “I feel like 2016’s California was similar to 1999’s Enema Of The State and 2001’s Take Off Your Pants And Jacket — reestablishing the band, giving fans what they really want and expect from Blink. Now that we got that out of our system naturally, we’re not writing like that this time. It’s more experimental.” As for when the new Blink record might arrive, Barker hinted, “April, May or June, if I had to guess. That’s the target. It’s kind of loose. But I feel like it’s happening right around there.” The new Blink record will be the band’s second with guitarist and singer Matt Skiba, who replaced founding member Tom DeLonge in 2015.