The punk legends Blink-182’s new Christmas EP is “100 times better than Neighborhoods ”, according to the band’s world renowned drummer Travis Barker. The Band released Neighborhoods a little over a year ago. Two years of writing, recording, and production left fans who haven’t heard new blink in five years very anxious. The band’s delays in the recording process resulted in the cancelation of a European tour, and the label setting a deadline for the album’s completion. The band explored experimental recording techniques during their recording but set a goal to maintain a “pop sensibility”. The new record is packed with dark lyrics, and the band infuses inspiration from each member’s various musical tastes to form a unique sound that recalls their separate upbringings; leading the trio to compare the album to separate “neighborhoods” – thus the name. So after all this hype, and not much disappointment, most long-time fans remain faithful to the group. Re-uniting bands can be dangerous as history has shown, recently we saw this with fellow punk legends Green Day, but, blink-182’s Neighborhoods made it to #2 on the US Billboard 200 and #1 on both the US Rock Albums and US Alternative Albums charts. Although, unlink five-times-platinum album Enema of the State , the record didn’t sell as quickly and not in the same great quantity, but ratings and general fan reactions points to approval. That primarily successful release adds even more anticipation to the band’s newest material, Dogs Eating Dogs – which, if is anything like Neighborhoods , will leak any day now. The band announced primarily over Twitter that all of the sudden there was a preorder for an EP available on their website. The Christmas Bundles – all of the sudden are the main attraction. Packages of either $50 or $100 that include a Christmas poster, a hoodie or T-Shirt, the new EP, a mystery gift, and the more expensive package has the poster signed by the band. The new EP was an idea that was formulated just after Halloween by Travis Barker and vocalist/guitar front-man Tom Delonge. They hit it to the studio, at Tom Delonge’s home studio also known as Neverpants Ranch, where many albums have been recorded and produced including Angels and Airwaves and We Don’t Need to Whisper, Tom’s other band. Mark Hoppus, the band’s third member and bassist, said “It was great, ideas falling everywhere. Lots of long hours spent on five new songs.” Then just on Sunday the 9th, Travis Barker tweeted confirming the opening track title of “Boxing Day”. The five song EP probably isn’t going to be all Christmas songs. And the songs that are Christmas songs are undoubtedly not going to be any type of serious testament to the joy of the season, but will probably be a style characteristic to them – their 35 year old teenage mind set style that gives them the perfect mixture of immaturity and musical intelligence that leads them to the signature that they’ve trademarked over the years. The band said that the difference with this new material is that they were present in a room recording and writing together, where in the development of Neighborhoods , the songs came together by ideas being sent by email from member to member. The new EP is their reconnection. On top of that, blink just split from their long time label, Interscope Records, and Travis Barker says the EP is being made solely “for the fans. It’s like a post-being-off-the-label celebration,” The 5 song set is also said to have a folk song, as Tom Delonge Tweeted. Travis confirmed that more new Blink music is on the way. The drummer says they’ll head back to the studio in February after an Australian tour to begin writing and recording their next full-length, with plans to release it near the end of 2013. What is the band’s motto going forward? In Travis’s own words, “The rule is there’s no rules.”