Simple Creatures is a project by Alex Gaskarth, lead singer of All Time Low, and Mark Hoppus, lead singer of Blink-182. This project was a secret for a long time, with both guys saying that they were on a project, without letting any information out on what that project would be. With this, they left fans curious and full of tension.

One month before the release of this EP, some tension was released with the single ‘Drug’ and a week later with the single ‘Strange Love’. From these singles we had an idea of what the project would sound like. It’s a wave/punk/pop/trash mix that sounds nothing like their main bands. Blink-182 and All Time Low both have a punk/rock vibe with a bit of pop in there. Simple Creatures uses drum pads and samples with some real instruments mixed in between at some songs. Also, don’t forget the synthesizer. The combination of these elements gives it a very wavy and futuristic feeling. These are songs that could be played on the radio, like your everyday radio, but probably wouldn’t because it’s ‘too alternative’. If you get my point.

A couple of days before the release, we got the song ‘Adrenaline’, and on the release date we got the remaining three songs: ‘How To Live’, ‘Ether’ and ‘Lucy’. All songs have such a different feel to it. It’s amazing how they remain in line with the music as a whole, but still get such a different vibe out of it.

With the release of the EP, they also started to do some shows in the US, UK and Austria. They didn’t only play the songs that are already out, but also some of the second half of the album. This lead me to think that we can expect the full album out soon. Mark Hoppus also confirmed this in an interview. With that, he mentioned that All Time Low and Blink-182 will still be their main bands and that the focus is on these for the moment. Mark also said that both bands will be releasing their new albums first. So we can expect a new All Time Low album, a new Blink-182 album and on top of that probably the full Simple Creatures CD. Talk about a busy life. I’m excited to hear all this new stuff, and I’m most likely not the only one.

This project got a lot of attention right away, given the fact that both All Time Low and Blink-182 are well known in the punk/rock scene. Within less than a month, Simple Creatures already had over 800.000 Instagram followers, almost matching the number of followers Alex and Mark have built up on their personal pages over the years.

Conclusion: It’s a project received with open arms by fans. It has a dash of weird, which is what makes it so good. I am kinda curious as to what would have happend if Alex and Mark hadn’t already built up a fanbase though. The quality of the music would stay the same of course, but the way in which the fans receive it would probably be different. With this I mean that a lot of people will probably say they like this because they like the main bands. So their opinion is biased. I’m curious as to what the reaction would be if you had never heard of All Time Low or Blink-182 before.

What do you think?

Release date: March 29, 2019.
Label: BMG
Tracklist:
1. Drug
2. Strange Love
3. How To Live
4. Adrenaline
5. Ether
6. Lucy

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