Box Car Racer

During the last leg of Blink-182's 2001 World Tour promoting the release of Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, guitarist Tom Delonge broke his back, causing cancellations all over Europe. While he was holed up in his house immobile and out of his mind on morphine, he started writing songs that were far darker than anything Blink had ever done. He decided to record these songs with Travis from Blink-182 on drums and his childhood friend, Over My Dead Body's Dave Kennedy, on lead guitar. This band caused a lot of problems for Blink's bassist, Mark Hoppus, who thought Tom didn't want to be in Blink anymore. As a result of the stress it put on Mark and Tom's friendship, Box Car Racer broke up after one album and a tour.

Box Car Racer (2002) 8 Thumbs Up

When I first heard of Tom wanting a "serious" side project, I was intrigued, but immediately assumed it would be horribly pretentious. Like...synthesizers and lyrics that make no sense. Then I heard the first single "I Feel So" on the radio, thought it was a pretty cool rock song, and decided to buy the album. I was concerned it might take a little longer to get into than Blink-182's stuff, but luckily, Box Car Racer is just good ol' punk with some acoustic flair now and then. But my favourite part, by far, is that Tom's voice actually sounds cool on this album (especially in "All Systems Go" or second single "There Is") instead of whiny or overproduced.

It's different from Blink-182 - harder, faster, and with more serious lyrics. But despite what Tom says, it's not mindblowingly original when compared with the average rock band. Of course, Box Car Racer isn't bland, either, they just aren't revolutionary or something. The lyrics are much better than emo, though. The best fast songs are "And I" and "Tiny Voices," and the best slower songs are "Letters To God" (that is one awesome track) and "Cat Like Thief," which features Tim Armstrong of Rancid on guest vocals. This band is better than typical mall punk, and I would definitely recommend it to both fans of Blink-182 and normal rock fans.

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