Rounding out (+44)'s lineup are guitarists Shane Gallagher (The Nervous Return) and Craig Farbaugh (Transplants [ tickets ], Lars Frederiksen & The Bastards). The band takes its name from the international dialing code for the United Kingdom.

Interscope Records will issue (+44)'s debut album, "When Your Heart Stops Beating," on Nov. 14. The set was produced by Hoppus and Barker, with longtime Blink-182 producer Jerry Finn serving as executive producer.

"We were two-thirds of Blink-182, so we're not afraid of sounding like ourselves," Hoppus said of the new band in a press release. "We're not divorcing ourselves from the past, but we are pushing beyond the past. We're progressing like musicians should."

Barker added: "Mark and I have a natural chemistry after playing together for so long and it's only gotten stronger. This band is a continuation of Blink-182 but it's also different. For a long time, Blink-182 was an underdog. I like being the underdog again."

Barker and Gallagher have known each other since they were 16 years old and played together in garage bands. Fairbaugh and Barker were bandmates in Transplants, a group that got together sporadically between 1999 and 2005 and issued two albums.

After deciding to form the new band, Barker took piano lessons and began focusing more on songwriting. Hoppus who handles all of (+44)'s vocals on the forthcoming album, also wrote all of its lyrics and played some guitar.

"I had no idea what I was capable of, especially as a singer," Hoppus said. "There's a whole range in my voice, from barely whispering to really loud. I'm proud of how far I've come."

Following the split of Blink-182, which was announced in a February 2005 announcement on the band's website, former vocalist/guitarist Tom DeLonge moved on to form a new band dubbed Angels and Airwaves [ tickets ].