Although Nine is sequentially Blink-182's eighth studio album, Hoppus and Barker consider it their ninth by retroactively counting the band's 1994 demo, Buddha, as their first.

Nine received generally positive reviews from music critics, many of whom complimented its upgrade to the band's signature sound as well as its moodier lyrical content.

It debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 domestically; it reached the top ten in Canada, Austria, Australia, Germany, and the United Kingdom as well.

The band promoted the album with a North American co-headlining tour with rapper Lil Wayne, as well as five singles, including "I Really Wish I Hated You", which reached the top five on Billboard's Hot Rock Songs chart.

Skiba returned to Alkaline Trio to record their 2018 album, Is This Thing Cursed?, and tour in support of it, while Barker focused his energies on multiple different projects, including collaborations with Yungblud, Machine Gun Kelly, Suicideboys, XXXTentacion, and Lil Nas X. Hoppus, however, fell into a depression.

His first call went to All Time Low vocalist/guitarist Alex Gaskarth, and their studio sessions evolved into Simple Creatures, a full-fledged side project.

[2] During the recording process for Nine, the band worked with several artists, among them Pharrell Williams,[9] The Futuristics,[10] Captain Cuts, Andrew Watt, and Tim Pagnotta, with whom they wrote the singles "Blame It on My Youth" and "Happy Days".

[8] Musically, Nine infuses hip hop-inspired programming, electronics, and modern recording techniques into the band's punk rock sound.

"Making sure Blink isn't different than modern music — rather than being something of the past — is a big achievement for me," Barker said shortly before the album's release.

Steve Appleford of the Los Angeles Times describes the album as containing "postmodern effects and accelerated beats mingling with Blink-style vocal harmonies.

Christian Allaire of Vogue called it an album that focuses on "healing—from depression, anxiety, failed relationships, a broken political system.

[11] Hoppus noted to Allen that a compulsion to check his phone and scroll on Twitter impacted his daily thoughts: "It's a really strange time where everyone is on heightened alert," he said.

"[2]In addition, world events—the presidency of Donald Trump, his border control policies, and the influx of mass shootings in the U.S.—were infused into Nine.

[2] Specifically, "Heaven" was written about a massacre at a bar in Thousand Oaks that took place just shy of two miles from Barker's California home in 2018.

Feldmann first sketched out the song as an uplifting embrace of salvation, but Skiba altered it to serve as a critique of organized religion.

He had recently viewed the film Spotlight, and its investigation into the known abuses of children at the hands of the Catholic Church instilled a rage in him.

I'm counting Buddha, Cheshire Cat, Dude Ranch, Enema of the State, TOYPAJ, Untitled, Neighborhoods, California, and now Nine.

The band started a text messaging newsletter in the days leading up to the release of the "Darkside" single, and has since updated it with previews of songs and links to new videos.

[28] AllMusic contributor Neil Z. Yeung considered it one of Blink's "strongest late-era efforts," praising its "commitment to vulnerability and honesty.

extolled the material's "rich personality",[33] while Collin Goeman of Alternative Press dubbed it a "pop-punk record for the next generation.

"[40] Grant Sharples of online magazine Consequence of Sound felt the LP was "weighed down by stereotypical lyrics and cloying choruses.